FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— An ethics watchdog, such as our state’s legislative inspector general, should know when to say ‘no comment.’ Former judge Michael McCuskey has been talking too much.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/22/patrick-pfingsten-michael-mccuskey-legislative-inspector-general-harry-benton/
— Recall referendum issue seems like Laesch vs. Irvin round two.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/23/column-recall-referendum-issue-seems-like-laesch-vs-irvin-round-two/
— Data centers near O’Hare win nearly $100M in local tax breaks, leaving suburban homeowners to cover the gap.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/23/special-report-data-centers-taxes/
— Mandatory service can renew young people’s faith in America. DD: My initial plan was to enlist and to earn a bachelor’s degree with the GI Bill. But then I saw that my high school neighbor friend in Crete was on track to get accepted by UIC and to commute to/from classes there from his parents’ home. I adopted that plan, I took college preparatory classes, got an ACT score of 24, and I graduated in the upper 20% of my 1966 Crete-Monee High School class. My high school neighbor friend commuted in a new 1965 base Chevelle that his father bought for him. I commuted in a new 1966 Pontiac Tempest Sprint that I paid for with money that I earned washing dishes for 28 hours a week during my junior and senior years 1964-1966 and for 40 hours a week during the summer of 1965.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/24/opinion-national-service-renew-faith-america-patriotism/
— For tens of thousands in northwest Indiana, power outages mean much of August has been hell. ComEd took a few days to restore power after Aug. 11 storms. NIPSCO is taking two weeks. DD: The more that overhead lines bring power to your home, the more that those lines are near trees, the more that I recommend getting a whole-house backup electric generator.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/24/editorial-nipsco-commonwealth-edison-electricity-outages-storms/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— ALL OF THE FRONT PAGE: ‘Why is this OK?’ With no power and a spotty generator, every day is a struggle for a family of seven as they approach two weeks without electricity in Northwest Indiana. DD: The more that overhead lines bring power to your home, the more that those lines are near trees, the more that I recommend getting a whole-house backup electric generator.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/graphics/weather/powerless/12-nights-without-power-in-Gary-Indiana/
DAILY HERALD
— Geneva Concours highlights rare, unusual vehicles. DD: There were three 1972 Corvettes in the concours. I have owned my 1972 Corvette since October 14, 1971.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260823/festivals-and-fairs/a-fashion-show-for-cars-geneva-concours-highlights-rare-unusual-vehicles/
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/great-lakes/5008067-genevais-concours-dielegance-car-show-pics-lots.html
ABC7
— At least 17 shot, 4 fatally, in weekend gun violence across Chicago.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-shootings-weekend-least-16-shot-4-fatally-gun-violence-city-police-department-says/19722721/
NBC5
— A $25-per-hour minimum wage? Some Illinois lawmakers are pushing for it. DD: I did not start earning $25/hour in today’s dollars until I had a) passed the Federal Service Entrance Examination and earned a bachelor’s degree in business from NIU when I was 21 in 1970 and b) got hired by IRS in 1971.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-politics/a-25-per-hour-minimum-wage-some-illinois-lawmakers-are-pushing-for-it/3931575/
CBS2
— Frustration mounts for thousands still without power after deadly Indiana storms. DD: The more that overhead lines bring power to your home, the more that those lines are near trees, the more that I recommend getting a whole-house backup electric generator.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/deadly-indiana-storms-frustration-mounts-thousands-still-without-power/
— Illinois politics are to blame for failure to secure stadium for Chicago Bears in state.
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/expert-illinois-politics-blame-failure-secure-stadium-chicago-bears/
WGN9
— Indiana Gov. Mike Braun criticizes NIPSCO over ongoing outages; more than 15K remain without power. DD: The more that overhead lines bring power to your home, the more that those lines are near trees, the more that I recommend getting a whole-house backup electric generator.
https://wgntv.com/northwest-indiana/nipscos-latest-outage-numbers-gary-mayor-provides-update-at-wgn/
WBEZ
— DD: Democrat leaders fight standardized testing because those who have demographics that vote for Democrats get lower test scores than those who have demographics that vote for Republicans. I passed many standardized tests a) to earn a job-related bachelor’s degree, b) to earn three job-related master’s degrees, c) to earn six job-related professional certifications, d) to earn a job-related professional license, and e) to get hired by the Post Office, IRS, and GAO. Overwhelmingly, those who took and passed standardized tests with me had demographics that vote for Republicans. The Democrats who ran the Post Office in 1966, IRS in 1971, and GAO in 1980 hired me because they could not find a qualified Democrat, minority, female, younger person, or veteran who would take the job.
https://www.wbez.org/say-more-with-mary-dixon-patrick-smith/2026/08/18/should-colleges-and-universities-require-standardized-test-scores-for-admission
NORTHWEST HERALD
— Trump store in Crystal Lake is closing, owner announces – but then seemingly takes it back.
https://www.shawlocal.com/northwest-herald/2026/08/22/trump-store-in-crystal-lake-is-closing-owner-announces/
PEORIA JOURNAL STAR
— What income is needed to live comfortably in Illinois: $244,109 for a family of 4 and $101,587 single
https://www.pjstar.com/story/business/economy/2026/08/24/salary-needed-to-live-comfortably-in-illinois-smartasset/91409434007/
ILLINOIZE
— Will there be gubernatorial debates?
https://www.theillinoize.com/articles/will-there-be-gubernatorial-debates
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Ocasio-Cortez endorses Massachusetts Senate incumbent Ed Markey. DD: I remember attending a meeting with Markey when I worked for GAO in the early 1980s.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/congressional/4694506/ocasio-cortez-endorses-massachusetts-senate-incumbent-ed-markey-green-new-deal/
— California school district’s curriculum cites Osama bin Laden’s manifesto as proof US ‘targeted Muslim communities.’ DD: Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly give more preference to Muslims.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/education/4696334/california-school-districts-curriculum-cites-osama-bin-ladens-manifesto-as-proof-us-targeted-muslim-communities/
AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
— Inflation Pressures. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly blame Trump for inflation and for everything else that is bad.
https://www.aei.org/featured_data/inflation-pressures/
AMERICAN THINKER
— Colorado to constituents — no guns for you. Colorado leftists attempt an end run around the 2nd Amendment. DD: Colorado today, Illinois tomorrow.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/08/colorado-to-constituents-no-guns-for-you/
CATO
— Ten Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) Arguments for Socialism and Why They’re Wrong. DD: What were you able to do under capitalism? I was able to buy a 1958 Chevy BeAir when I was 16 in 1964 with money I earned doing yard work and delivering newspapers. I was able buy a new 1966 Pontiac Tempest Sprint in 1966 with money I earned washing dishes for the minimum wage. I was able buy a new 1968 Oldsmobile 442 in 1967 and a new 1969 Dodge Charger SE in 1968 with money I earned delivering mail. I was able to graduate debt-free from NIU in 1970 owning that Charger with money I earned delivering mail. I was able to buy a new 1972 Corvette in 1971 with money I earned working for Firestone Stores and IRS. I was able to buy a new townhome in 1972 with money I earned working for Firestone Stores and IRS.
https://www.cato.org/blog/ten-democratic-socialists-america-dsa-arguments-socialism-why-theyre-wrong
CRISIS MAGAZINE
— In Defense of Private Property: Repelling the Rise of Socialism. DD: What were you able to do under capitalism? I was able to buy a 1958 Chevy BeAir when I was 16 in 1964 with money I earned doing yard work and delivering newspapers. I was able buy a new 1966 Pontiac Tempest Sprint in 1966 with money I earned washing dishes for the minimum wage. I was able buy a new 1968 Oldsmobile 442 in 1967 and a new 1969 Dodge Charger SE in 1968 with money I earned delivering mail. I was able to graduate debt-free from NIU in 1970 owning that Charger with money I earned delivering mail. I was able to buy a new 1972 Corvette in 1971 with money I earned working for Firestone Stores and IRS. I was able to buy a new townhome in 1972 with money I earned working for Firestone Stores and IRS.
https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/in-defense-of-private-property-repelling-the-rise-of-socialism
DAILY SIGNAL
— Immigration Under the New Left.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/08/23/immigration-under-the-new-left/
— Why Are So Many Young People Drawn to Communism?
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/08/23/why-are-so-many-young-people-drawn-to-communism/
EPOCH TIMES
— Why Are So Many Young People Drawn to Communism?
https://www.theepochtimes.com/opinion/why-are-so-many-young-people-drawn-to-communism-6077478
FOX NEWS
— Socialists don’t believe in liberty of any kind.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403937012112
— Billions spent by key federal agency hasn’t made American dream of homeownership any easier. DD: I bought a new townhome in University Park when I was 24 in 1972. SEE: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/774-Sunset-Ct-5-University-Park-IL-60484/5451474_zpid/ . In today’s dollars, I paid about $180,000 for it and the down payment would have been about $36,000. In today’s dollars, my IRS Revenue Officer salary had just increased from $56,409/year to $68,999/year. The down payment came from what I had earned working for IRS for 15 months and for a Firestone Store part-time for 18 months and full-time for 7 months before that. According to Zillow, the townhome is currently worth $93,700. That says worlds about real estate values in University Park.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/billions-spent-key-federal-agency-hasnt-made-american-dream-homeownership-any-easier-report
NATIONALREVIEW
— Democratic Socialists of America Hate Billionaires — Except Fidel Castro.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/08/the-democratic-socialists-of-america-hate-billionaires-except-fidel-castro/
REAL CLEAR POLITICS
— We Need To Remind Americans Why Capitalism’s Important. DD: What were you able to do under capitalism? I was able to buy a 1958 Chevy BeAir when I was 16 in 1964 with money I earned doing yard work and delivering newspapers. I was able buy a new 1966 Pontiac Tempest Sprint in 1966 with money I earned washing dishes for the minimum wage. I was able buy a new 1968 Oldsmobile 442 in 1967 and a new 1969 Dodge Charger SE in 1968 with money I earned delivering mail. I was able to graduate debt-free from NIU in 1970 owning that Charger with money I earned delivering mail. I was able to buy a new 1972 Corvette in 1971 with money I earned working for Firestone Stores and IRS. I was able to buy a new townhome in 1972 with money I earned working for Firestone Stores and IRS.
https://www.realclearmarkets.com/2026/08/24/we_need_to_remind_americans_why_capitalisms_important_1201914.html
— DEI Refuses To Die.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2026/08/24/dei_refuses_to_die_154439.html
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
AOL
— Curfews, drones, and criminal charges: Cities differ on approaches to ‘teen takeovers.’ DD: What is your municipality doing to stop Democrat teen takeovers?
https://www.aol.com/articles/curfews-drones-criminal-charges-cities-140006000.html
NEW YORK TIMES
— Moving to Florida. DD: More and more and more of those who are the following are moving to Florida: conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-poor, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/15/realestate/florida-retirement-residency-taxes.html
USA TODAY
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: The Democrat Party platform is extremely anti-religious. How successful have Democrats been taking over your church?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/08/22/democrats-use-faith-to-challenge-red-state-gop/91340610007/
USA HERALD
— California Wants Corporations to Confess Their Ties to Slavery — Under Oath. DD: According to Democrat leaders, the more of the following that you are, the more that you are tied to slavery: conservative, Republican, American, White, male, older, non-poor, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. I am all of the aforesaid. In my defense, I stress that even though all my ancestors immigrated during the 1840s and 1850s, they always lived in northeast Illinois, they never were in a position to discriminate against anyone, and they never did discriminate against anyone.
https://usaherald.com/california-wants-corporations-to-confess-their-ties-to-slavery-under-oath/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— A Socialist Surprise in Florida.
https://www.wsj.com/video/wsj-opinion-a-socialist-surprise-in-florida/7780BE57-7ACC-4DD7-A963-30D1C441AB05
FORBES
— Unfair Advantages. DD: What unfair advantages do your critics/opponents say you have? According to my critics/opponents, the following are unfair advantages and I have them: White, male, Protestant, German American, and my ancestors have been in America since 1844. In addition, a) my parents sent me to Missouri Synod Lutheran grade schools 1953-1962, b) my parents provided me with room and board while I attended UIC 1966-1968, weekends during my first semester at NIU in 1969, and the summer of 1969, and c) I avoided the Vietnam War draft. In my defense. 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, and I had to work my way through college.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ruthgotian/2022/07/19/you-might-be-overlooking-your-unfair-advantage-heres-how-to-find-it/
MARKETPLACE
— Americans are retiring earlier than they’d like to. And not because they can afford to. DD: The more of the following that you are, the more that you should anticipate/expect that you will be forced to retire early: conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-poor, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or if you have ancestors who have been in America for a long time.
https://www.marketplace.org/story/2026/07/24/why-some-americans-are-forced-to-retire-too-soon
NEWS BREAK
— Sen. Duckworth Tells Hegseth to “Find a New Job and Let the Press Do Theirs” After Stars and Stripes Editor’s Firing. DD: Since 2000, my critics/opponents have hinted/implied/argued/shouted at the following that because I am a Republican Precinct Committeeman, they can and they should dictate the content of my GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters: the leaders of the Illinois Republican Party, DuPage County Republican Central Committee, and Milton Township Republican Organization. I should write about the many big adverse actions that the aforesaid have taken against me since 2000.
https://www.newsbreak.com/combat-rated-361333999/4845203759286-sen-duckworth-tells-hegseth-to-find-a-new-job-and-let-the-press-do-theirs-after-stars-and-stripes-editor-s-firing
ATLANTIC
— High-School Reunions. Social media should have killed them. Instead, they’re popular again. DD: I just learned that my 1966 Crete-Monee High School class is going to have a reunion. Sadly, my interactions with my classmates was dramatically less during my junior and senior years because I spent 28 hours a week during the school years and 40 hours a week during the summer in between washing dishes in the basement of the SS Kresge in Chicago Heights. Sadly, that job did not paint me as being college material. Further, my not being able to run because I had a bone disease kept out of sports.
https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2025/09/high-school-reunion-attendance/684097/
Tag: male
August 23, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
DAILY HERALD
— FRONT PAGE: DuPage County clerk warns of ‘unprecedented disaster’ in November election if funding shortfalls aren’t addressed.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260822/news/dupage-county-clerk-warns-of-unprecedented-disaster-in-november-election-if-funding-shortfalls-are/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Kaczmarek, who lost a bid for reelection in the March primary, says her office is about $2.5 million short of what is needed to run the election. If the gap isn’t addressed, Kaczmarek said it could lead to cuts resulting in fewer polling places, a later start date for early voting and fewer election judges. . According to budget figures provided by county officials, the clerk’s office has spent 99.8% of its postage budget. The county budgeted $277,050, a 201% increase over what was spent in 2022, for postage, and the clerk’s office already has spent $276,569. In her proposed spending plan last year, Kaczmarek requested $734,672 for postage and $623,226 to cover election-related printing costs. County officials also noted the clerk’s office already has spent 74% of its printing budget, or money used to print ballots and other election materials. The county budgeted $474,700, a 15% increase over actual expenses in 2022, the last year of a gubernatorial election. The clerk’s office already has spent $351,126. . .Kaczmarek said she is reviewing her options for the November election with her office’s election attorney. She does not intend to be at Tuesday’s county board meeting.)
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— ALL OF THE FRONT PAGE: DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2026/08/21/deported-operation-midway-blitz-asif-amin-cheema-pakistan-best-sub-humboldt-park-addison
ABC7
— ComEd crews deployed to NW Indiana as NIPSCO power outages, storm recovery continues. Chicago Bears announce $200,000 in donations for storm relief efforts. DD: The more that overhead lines bring power to your home, the more that those lines are near trees, the more that I recommend getting a whole-house backup electric generator.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-area-storm-recovery-comed-sending-crews-illinois-assist-nipsco-nw-indiana-power-restoration/19719373/
WGN9
— US Postal Service issues rule to tighten requirements for mail-in voting despite courts looking to block.
https://wgntv.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/us-postal-service-issues-rule-to-tighten-requirements-for-mail-in-voting-despite-courts-looking-to-block/
FOX32
— Here’s how much it costs to live comfortably in your state for 2026: Illinois: $244,109 for a family of 4 and $101,587 single
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/heres-how-much-costs-live-comfortably-your-state-2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— And now the Democrat Party moves into open Marxism territory.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/22/democrat-party-moves-open-marxism-territory/
— Trump moves to cancel American Bar Association accreditation of law schools.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/21/trump-moves-cancel-american-bar-association-accreditation-law-schools/
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— RNC raised $19 million in July and has $130 million for midterm elections.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/congressional/4692615/rnc-touts-record-cash-on-hand/
NEW YORK POST
— DSA’s foreign-policy agenda has one goal: weaken America so that world’s worst regimes can reign instead.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/22/opinion/dsas-foreign-policy-agenda-weaken-america-strengthen-foes/
AMERICAN THINKER
— Socialists aiming to make ‘educational’ indoctrination ‘free.’ Socialists target educational systems for a reason. DD: I avoided Democrat indoctrination by majoring in business, accounting, and finance.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/08/socialists-aiming-to-make-educational-indoctrination-free/
DAILY WIRE
— DD: According to Democrats, Jesus is a Democrat who condemns the concepts of countries, borders, laws, and private ownership. According to Democrats, Jesus wants dependency on government and charity, LGBTQ, abortion, mass/illegal immigration, vices, diminishment of Second Amendment rights, and Affirmative Action and DEI, that is, race and gender based preference giving, patronage, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination. According to democrats, Jesus condemns those who are conservative, Republican, American, White, male, older, non-poor, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. How strongly have Democrats taken over your church?
https://www.dailywire.com/episode/michael-knowles-show-socialism-christianity-debate
FOX NEWS
— Schumer touts Democrats as ‘big tent party’ amid socialist surge.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403876623112
— AOC’s ‘Woke 1’ comment conceals a dangerous pivot to socialist class war.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/aoc-woke-1-comment-conceals-dangerous-pivot-socialist-class-war-media-chief-warns.amp
— DD: According to my critics/opponents, I got a higher ACT score because I benefitted tremendously from discrimination against my peers who were minority, female, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or had ancestors who had not been in America for a long time.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/california-professor-cited-irony-removing-act-sat-didnt-help-disadvantaged-groups-intended
— Trump’s welfare reforms are a major victory; bureaucrats could still wreck them.
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/trumps-welfare-reforms-major-victory-bureaucrats-could-still-wreck-them
HOT AIR
— DD: According to my critics/opponents, I got a higher ACT score because I benefitted tremendously from discrimination against my peers who were minority, female, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or had ancestors who had not been in America for a long time.
https://hotair.com/john-stossel/2026/08/22/racist-tests-n3818242
LEGAL INSURRECTION
— Maoist Faction of the DSA Claims Ocasio-Cortez too ‘Moderate’ to Run for President.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2026/08/maoist-faction-of-the-dsa-claims-ocasio-cortez-too-moderate-to-run-for-president/amp/
NEWSBUSTERS
— The Media Struggles with Socialism and ‘Progressive Credentials.’
https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/jeffrey-lord/2026/08/22/2026-media-struggles-socialism-and-progressive-credentials
PJ MEDIA
— The Democrats Have Already Lost to the Socialists.
https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/08/22/the-democrats-have-already-lost-to-the-socialists-n4956436
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
AOL
— The Rise of Democratic Socialists After Primaries.
https://www.aol.com/articles/definitely-growing-cnn-data-guru-135328000.html
— Democrats Have a More Positive View of Socialism Than Capitalism By a 26-Point Margin.
https://www.aol.com/articles/poll-democrats-more-positive-view-164901000.html
CNBC
— The top 10 colleges for financial aid in 2026, according to The Princeton Review — and what families actually pay. DD: My critics/opponents have always used my not getting any scholarships against me big time.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/18/colleges-best-financial-aid-2026-princeton-review.html
NEW YORK TIMES
— DD: I should write about the lawsuits that I have filed. I would focus on the defendants and the big adverse actions that they and their attorneys have taken against me.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/19/opinion/trumps-revenge.html
USA TODAY
— Fetterman calls Dems the party of socialism.
https://www.aol.com/articles/fetterman-calls-dems-party-socialism-165228000.html
— What affordability really means. DD: What did you do to afford things? I took jobs that my peers would not stoop to take. I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree. I earned three job-related master’s degrees. I earned six job-related professional certifications. I earned a job-related professional license.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/nletter/2026/08/21/affordability-prices-inflation-debt-credit-money/91335601007/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Cracks in the Blue Wall Against Voter ID.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/cracks-in-the-blue-wall-against-voter-id-79da7f93
SCRIPPS NEWS
— A growing number of six-figure earners say the American Dream feels out of reach. DD: How old were you when you started earning $100,000/year in today’s dollars? For me, it was when I was 25 in 1974. I had worked for IRS for 3 years. I had completed 10 graduate business evening business courses at Loyola.
https://www.scrippsnews.com/politics/economy/a-growing-number-of-six-figure-earners-say-the-american-dream-feels-out-of-reach
LAS VEGAS JOURNAL REVIEW
— Everyone is campaigning on ‘affordability’ that no one can deliver. DD: What did you do to afford things? I took jobs that my peers would not stoop to take. I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree. I earned three job-related master’s degrees. I earned six job-related professional certifications. I earned a job-related professional license.
https://www.reviewjournal.com/opinion/jonah-goldberg-everyone-is-campaigning-on-affordability-that-no-one-can-deliver-3868118/
NEWS REVIEW
— Affordability is a real issue for Generation Z. DD: What did you do to afford things when you were young? I took jobs that my peers would not stoop to take. I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree. I earned three job-related master’s degrees. I earned six job-related professional certifications. I earned a job-related professional license.
https://www.petoskeynews.com/story/opinion/columns/2026/08/22/affordability-is-a-real-issue-for-generation-z-opinion/91286235007/
CONCORD MONITOR
— Consider this before running for office. DD: What are your demographics? From what I see, because the following demographics are ever-increasingly demonized, denigrated, and condemned, the more of the following that you are, the more likely that you will lose: conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-poor, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time.
https://www.concordmonitor.com/2026/08/23/my-turn-candidates-american-values-unity/
ALASKA NATIVE NEWS
— A Government of the Rich, by the Rich, for the Rich: Nearly 60 Top Trump Officials Worth $100 Million or More.
https://alaska-native-news.com/a-government-of-the-rich-by-the-rich-for-the-rich-nearly-60-top-trump-officials-worth-100-million-or-more/85802/
ATLANTIC
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote socialism.
https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/08/socialism-rich-kids-gordillo/688382/
FEDERAL RETIREMENT
— Federal employee retirement benefits are generous. Health, dental, and vision insurance cost the same in retirement as they did while working. DD: My critics/opponents are furious about me and my wife benefitting from that.
https://federalretirement.net/benefits/
SHRM
— Multi-Generational Workforce Poses Challenges for HR Professionals. DD: While I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO 1980-1997, their top priority was getting rid of their older employees who were Republican, White, male, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or had ancestors who had been in America for a long time. In 1993, when I was 45 years old, to get rid of their employees who were the aforesaid, they “offered” early retirement.
https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/employment-law-compliance/multi-generational-workforce-poses-challenges-hr
LEGIS
— Federal Probationary Workers Leaving Jobs at Higher Rates. DD: After I transferred from IRS to GAO when I was 31 in 1980, my Democrat GAO superiors were furious when they learned that they could not use probationary procedures to get rid of me. Nevertheless, they did everything that could to get me to transfer back to IRS, transfer to another federal agency, or quit. They gave me bad job assignments, unfair performance expectations, and unfair performance appraisals. They kept me off audits of IRS. They delayed my promotions and never promoted me beyond GS-13. Further, previously, in 1970, my Chicago Heights Firestone Store boss refused to let me start until after I passed a 2-week probationary period in Indiana. He would never had hired me, but his boss had assigned me to him. He did not have a college degree and he disapproved of my avoiding the Vietnam War draft, my being Protestant, my being German American, my having ancestors who had been in America since 1844, and my living in Crete.
https://legis1.com/news/federal-probationary-workers-separation-rates
DAILY KOS
— DD: According to Democrats, a) slaves built America and b) the longer that your ancestors have been in America, the more that you have benefitted from slavery and the more reparations that you should pay. Democrats have always wanted me to pay lots of reparations because all my ancestors immigrated during the 1840s and 1850s. In their defense, they always lived in northeast Illinois, they never were in a position to discriminate against anyone, and they never did discriminate against anyone.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/8/23/800087432/community/what-does-it-mean-to-remember-slavery/
FROM FOREIGN SOURCES
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES
— The New American Divide, Not Dream: Where You Start May Shape Where You End. DD: What helped you earn more than your parents did? I took jobs that my peers would not stoop to take. I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree. I earned three job-related master’s degrees. I earned six job-related professional certifications. I earned a job-related professional license. My father had brittle type 1 diabetes from childhood. He was only the first of his ancestors to earn a high school diploma. Because of his diabetes, he never attended college. My mother never attended high school.
https://www.ibtimes.sg/new-american-divide-not-dream-where-you-start-may-shape-where-you-end-92697
(FROM THE ATICLE: The share of American children who earn more than their parents has fallen from about 90% among those born in 1940 to roughly 50% among children born in the 1980s. The decline has affected the entire income distribution, but the fall has been particularly pronounced for the middle class.)
FROM OTHER SOURCES
CHICAGO MOTOR CARS & HAMILTON COLLECTION
— What a great day at the Wheaton Concours! DD: It was an outstanding event! My dream car is a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T, as it came from the factory, numbers matching/correct, like new, 440 or 426, automatic, blue exterior, black vinyl roof, black leather interior, and air conditioning. There was one at the concours with virtually all of the aforesaid. I owned a 1968 R/T 1994-2005 and a 1969 SE 1968-1971.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcWahdYRneo/
https://www.chicagomotorcars.com/
https://thehamiltoncollection.com/
August 21, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC7
— Tracy: “We believe in equal opportunity. They believe in equal outcomes. We believe in rewarding success. They want to redistribute success.”
https://abc7chicago.com/post/republican-candidates-midterm-election-share-message-unity-2026-illinois-state-fair/19709027/
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— DD: Political parties exist to help elect candidates who can and will defend and advance their platform. The Republican Party platform is conservative. Trump defends and advances many planks in that platform. Democrat and RINO leaders blame Proft for Republican losses in Illinois, but they really blame Trump and the Republican Party platform. To win elections, they want the Republican Party to become the Democrat Lite Party, that is, to officially dump Trump and to officially dump the party’s conservative base, that is, to officially dump the platform’s personal responsibility, traditional marriage and family, right to life, immigration, anti-vice, Second Amendment, and equal opportunity (no race or gender based preference giving) planks, that is, to officially dissolve. Democrat candidates win in Illinois because they and their mainstream news media aggressively promote the anti-conservative Democrat Party platform.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/21/illinois-republicans-dan-proft-richard-uihlein-tony-mccombie-ryan-spain-republicans/
WMBD
— With Trump barely mentioned, Illinois Republicans focus on common enemy: Pritzker.
https://wmbdradio.com/2026/08/21/676221/
CAPITOL CITY NOW
— Illinois GOP chief Grogan on 2026 election: ‘It’s common sense versus communism’
https://capitolcitynow.com/news/248842-illinois-gop-chief-on-2026-election-its-common-sense-versus-communism/
CHRONICLE ILLINOIS
— Different state, same results for Catalina Lauf, Jim Oberweis.
https://chronicleillinois.com/news/different-state-same-results-for-catalina-lauf-jim-oberweis/
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— DD: According to Democrat and RINO leaders, to win, Illinois Republican candidates have dumped Trump.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/08/21/gop-says-affordability-trumps-trump-01044966
(FROM THE NEWSLETTER: Trump who? One thing Bailey and other Republicans largely avoided discussing – except when asked – was President Donald Trump.)
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/21/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-796/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
ILLINOIS FAMILY INSTITUTE
— Chicago Public Schools students return amid low proficiency, underused schools.
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/chicago-public-schools-back-to-school-performance-2026/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
— Adam Smith’s Warning for America’s New Socialists.
https://www.aei.org/commentary/adam-smiths-warning-for-americas-new-socialists/
AMERICAN THINKER
— Dividing America On Race: Russia’s Enduring Geopolitical Strategy. Thanks to the Soviet Union, America, rather than moving into a post-racial era after the Civil Rights Movement, has remained stuck in a racial time loop.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/08/dividing-america-on-race-russia-s-enduring-geopolitical-strategy/
COLLEGE FIX
— UC Berkeley’s top feeder school has 6% math proficiency.
https://www.thecollegefix.com/uc-berkeleys-top-feeder-school-has-6-math-proficiency/
— Trump admin unveils new rule to crack down on DEI in higher ed accreditors.
https://www.thecollegefix.com/trump-admin-unveils-new-rule-to-crack-down-on-dei-in-higher-ed-accreditors/
DAILY SIGNAL
— Democrats’ Minimum Wage Hike Would Make Life Less Affordable. To increase the federal minimum wage to $25/hour would cost the U.S. economy 5 million jobs and especially harm workers ages 16 to 24. DD: I did not start earning $25/hour in today’s dollars until after I had passed the Federal Service Entrance Examination, earned a bachelor’s degree in business, and got hired by IRS.
https://www.chronicle.com/article/no-the-sat-is-not-a-beacon-of-meritocracy
FEDERALIST
— Watchdog Asks Ed Department To Block American Bar Association’s Renewal As Law Schools’ Sole Accreditor. The Trump administration on Wednesday published rules that would open the door for other accreditors to be recognized across American higher education, as Trump himself recognizes that accreditation is the “secret weapon” for controlling universities.
https://thefederalist.com/2026/08/20/exclusive-watchdog-asks-ed-department-to-block-american-bar-associations-renewal-as-law-schools-sole-accreditor/
FOX NEWS
— As Chicago Suffers, City Found $639.6 Million for Illegals.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/2026/08/20/as_chicago_suffers_city_found_6396_million_for_illegals_708439.html
— Want to stop socialism? A modern civic education needs a lot more than you’d think. Only about one-quarter of students who began college in 2012 received any college-level economics instruction.
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/stop-socialism-modern-civic-education-needs-lot-more-than-youd-think
— New report lays out plan to tackle America’s affordability crisis. DD: What did you do to afford things? I took jobs that my peers would not stoop to take. I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree. I earned three job-related master’s degrees. I earned six job-related professional certifications. I earned a job-related professional license.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6403787257112
— California lawmakers want corporations to disclose ties to slavery. DD: According to Democrat leaders, the more of the following that you are, the more that you are tied to slavery: conservative, Republican, American, White, male, older, non-poor, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. I am all of the aforesaid. In my defense, I stress that even though all my ancestors immigrated during the 1840s and 1850s, they always lived in northeast Illinois, they never were in a position to discriminate against anyone, and they never did discriminate against anyone.
https://noticias.foxnews.com/media/california-lawmakers-push-corporate-slavery-disclosure-bill-despite-uncertain-future-reparations
NANCY MACE
— Rep. Nancy Mace Introduces Bill To Ban Non-Citizens From The Federal Workforce. DD: Because my parents lacked money, I had to compete against noncitizens for jobs. All my employers would have hired noncitizens instead of me if they could have. I did yard work 1962-1964. I delivered newspapers 1962-1966. I washed dishes 1964-1966. I cleaned golf shoes, chipped slag, and pumped gasoline in 1966. I delivering mail 1966-1969. I worked on an automotive assembly line in 1970. I sold tires, automotive services, and major appliances 1970-1971. I pumped more gasoline 1971-1972. I collected delinquent federal taxes 1971-1980. I audited federal agencies 1980-1997.
https://mace.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-nancy-mace-introduces-bill-ban-non-citizens-federal-workforce
POST MILLENNIAL
— San Francisco drag queen stuns audience with Charlie Kirk assassination reenactment at LGBTQ nightclub.
https://thepostmillennial.com/san-francisco-drag-queen-stuns-audience-with-charlie-kirk-assassination-reenactment-at-lgbtq-nightclub
REASON
— Do You Have the Right to Possess an AR-15? The Supreme Court Will Soon Decide. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a pair of cases involving rifle restrictions imposed by Connecticut and Cook County, Illinois. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly erode Second Amendment rights.
https://reason.com/2026/10/01/scotus-takes-up-assault-weapon-bans/
TOWNHALL
— Socialists Shove the Resistance Aside in Florida.
https://townhall.com/columnists/michaelbarone/2026/08/21/socialists-shove-the-resistance-aside-in-florida-n2681621
— California Democrats Want to Force Companies Into Their Reparations Agenda. DD: According to Democrat leaders, the more of the following that you are, the more that you are tied to slavery: conservative, Republican, American, White, male, older, non-poor, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. I am all of the aforesaid. In my defense, I stress that even though all my ancestors immigrated during the 1840s and 1850s, they always lived in northeast Illinois, they never were in a position to discriminate against anyone, and they never did discriminate against anyone.
https://townhall.com/news/jeff-charles/2026/08/20/california-democrats-want-to-force-companies-into-their-reparations-agenda-n2681592
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CNBC
— Affordability is a ‘defining challenge’ for Americans. DD: What did you do to afford things? I took jobs that my peers would not stoop to take. I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree. I earned three job-related master’s degrees. I earned six job-related professional certifications. I earned a job-related professional license.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/05/affordability-grocery-prices.html
NEW YORK TIMES
— DD: My critics/opponents are woke, that is, they promote dependency on government and charity, LGBTQ, abortion, mass/illegal immigration, vices, diminishment of Second Amendment rights, and Affirmative Action and DEI, that is, race and gender based preference giving, patronage, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/12/style/woke-1-aoc-dsa.html
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly fight efforts to fight voter fraud.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/20/us/politics/trump-nevada-voter-election-fraud.html
— Envy. DD: To promote envy against me, my Democrat GAO superiors stressed to my superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates how much money my wife and I had saved for our retirement. They stressed a) my avoiding the Vietnam War draft, b) that we gave up trying to have children without trying IVF, we did not adopt, and we did not become foster parents, c) my wife’s salary, d) the home we owned in Wheaton, e) our cars, and f) our having no debts. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/14/well/mind/envy-friends.html
USA TODAY
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote socialism.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2026/08/20/nixon-florida-primary-win-fundraising-polling-midterms/91370815007/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— The End of Harry and Meghan’s American Dream. DD: What did you do to achieve the American Dream? I took jobs that my peers would not stoop to take. I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree. I earned three job-related master’s degrees. I earned six job-related professional certifications. I earned a job-related professional license.
https://www.wsj.com/world/uk/the-end-of-harry-and-meghans-american-dream-172623fd
— Paul Ryan and Les Ford: Americans Are Getting Caught in the Safety Net. The 1996 welfare reform helped move people from dependency to work. We need to do that again.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/americans-are-getting-caught-in-the-safety-net-fed222f4
— Trump Administration Attacks Bar Association’s Power to Accredit Law Schools. The move escalates a feud with the nation’s premier legal organization.
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/aba-american-bar-association-law-schools-accredit-trump-education-e56f4cbc
24/7 WALL STREET
— AOC Just Revealed Her Net Worth Is Less Than $100,000, Here’s How Much Fidelity Says She Should Have Saved For Retirement Before She Turns 40. AOC’s 2025 financial disclosure shows a net worth as low as negative $33,000, despite earning roughly $1.22 million in congressional salary since 2019. Fidelity’s 3x-by-40 benchmark applied to AOC’s $174,000 salary sets a $522,000 retirement savings target she needs to hit by October 2029.
https://247wallst.com/personal-finance/2026/08/20/aoc-just-revealed-her-net-worth-is-less-than-100000-heres-how-much-fidelity-says-she-should-have-saved-for-retirement-before-she-turns-40/
FORTUNE
— Gen Z forced to rewrite the American Dream in the ‘Great Postponement’: Fixer-uppers, side hustles and doing life out of order. DD: What did you do to achieve the American Dream? I took jobs that my peers would not stoop to take. I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree. I earned three job-related master’s degrees. I earned six job-related professional certifications. I earned a job-related professional license.
https://fortune.com/2026/08/20/gen-z-american-dream-great-postponement-affordability/
INVESTOPEDIA
— Most Americans Say They Won’t Save Enough for Retirement, Even After Decades of Work, DD: To promote envy against me, my Democrat GAO superiors stressed to my superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates how much money my wife and I had saved for our retirement. They stressed a) my avoiding the Vietnam War draft, b) that we gave up trying to have children without trying IVF, we did not adopt, and we did not become foster parents, c) my wife’s salary, d) the home we owned in Wheaton, d) our cars, and f) our having no debts.
https://www.investopedia.com/why-most-americans-say-they-won-t-save-enough-for-retirement-even-after-decades-of-work-12009710
PENNSYLVANIA
— More Former Federal Employees Are Choosing the Commonwealth to Continue their Public Service Careers. With 1,350 former federal employees hired since last March, the Shapiro Administration continues to deliver results by helping ensure state agencies have the staff they need to deliver high-quality and responsive services to Pennsylvanians. DD: When my Democrat GAO superiors forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997, the Democrats and the RINOs who ran Illinois, DuPage County, Milton Township, and Wheaton had absolutely no use for me.
https://www.pa.gov/agencies/oa/newsroom/more-former-federal-employees-are-choosing-the-commonwealth-to-c
CHICO ENTERPRISE RECORD
— Socialism distributes poverty instead of wealth.
https://www.chicoer.com/2026/08/21/letter-to-the-editor-socialism-distributes-poverty-instead-of-wealth/
NEWS34
— Youth group organizers call for more safe spaces for teens in Charlotte amid curfew proposal. DD: When you were a teen, what did you do when you were not in school? I did yard work 1962-1964. I delivered newspapers 1962-1966. I washed dishes 1964-1966. I cleaned golf shoes, chipped slag, and pumped gasoline in 1966. I delivered mail 1966-1969.
https://www.aol.com/articles/youth-group-organizers-call-more-210422000.html
CENTRAL FLORIDA PUBLIC MEDIA
— Can Government Really Make Life More Affordable? DD: What did you do to afford things? I took jobs that my peers would not stoop to take. I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree. I earned three job-related master’s degrees. I earned six job-related professional certifications. I earned a job-related professional license.
https://www.cfpublic.org/podcast/engage/2026-08-20/can-government-really-make-life-more-affordable
GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE
— DD: Federal employees have file financial disclosure statements. Republican federal employees should anticipate/expect that their Democrat superiors will use that information against them. The more income and assets that you have, the more that they will leak that information to promote envy against you. My Democrat superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates in the federal government painted themselves as being grossly underpaid. They decried their spouses having little or no income. They decried the costs of child raising. They were ever-increasingly envious of my and my wife’s income and assets.
https://www.govexec.com/management/2026/06/practical-steps-agencies-mitigate-financial-disclosure-controversies/414003/
NEW YORK REVIEW
— As Democratic Socialists rack up primary victories, the moderate wing of the Democratic Party looks increasingly out of touch.
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2026/08/20/whose-party-democratic-socialists-of-america/
JACOBIN
— How China Picks Its Winners and Losers. China’s university entrance exam is one of the most competitive in the world — a reflection of the cutthroat reality of the country’s labor market. DD: My Democrat IRS and GAO superiors were furious when I passed the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979 and I passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt in 1981 because my Democrat coworkers who they wanted to promote over me either a) failed/refused to take the examinations or b) failed to pass them.
https://jacobin.com/2026/08/china-education-inequality-gaokao-exams
WASHINGTON STAND
— DD: How strongly does your church promote the anti-religious Democrat Party platform?
https://washingtonstand.com/article/most-american-churchgoers-say-their-clergy-address-political-issues-poll-finds
NPR
— Should the U.S. have a mandatory retirement age? DD: Federal employees under the Civil Service Retirement System and who are the following are forced to retire as soon as they are eligible, that is, when they are 55 and have 30 years of service: conservative, Republican, White, male, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time. I am all of the aforesaid. I became eligible for early retirement when I was 45 in 1993. My Democrat GAO succeeded in forcing me to retire when I was 49 in 1997 when their early retirement “offer” expired. I would not have been eligible for regular retirement until I was 55 in 2003. They made it very clear that if I did not take their “offer,” they would make those 6 years a living hell for me. They would constructively demote me, give me adverse transfers, give me unfair performance expectations, give me unfair performance appraisals, and even worse things.
https://www.npr.org/2026/08/14/nx-s1-5924910/should-the-u-s-have-a-mandatory-retirement-age
CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
— DD: When Whites and males do better on tests than minorities and females, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly blame Republican discrimination against minorities and females.
https://www.chronicle.com/article/no-the-sat-is-not-a-beacon-of-meritocracy
FROM FOREIGN SOURCES
CHINA ACADEMY
— Can Gen Z Socialism Shake the Stronghold of Western Capitalism?
https://thechinaacademy.org/can-gen-z-socialism-shake-the-stronghold-of-western-capitalism/
GUARDIAN
— From McDonald’s to Congress: can a former fry cook flip a key district for Democrats? DD: What are you a former? I am a former yard worker, newspaper boy, dish washer, golf shoe cleaner, slag chipper, gasoline pumper, mailman, automotive assembly line worker, tire, automotive service, and major appliance salesman, tax collector, and auditor.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/20/mcdonalds-congress-affordability-democrats
ECONOMIC TIMES
— DD: Democrats encourage illegal immigration because illegals vote for Democrats. RINOs encourage illegal immigration because RINOs want cheap labor.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/migrate/america-sold-the-world-a-dream-and-kept-millions-chasing-it/articleshow/133394322.cms
August 19, 2026 Evening Edition
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC7
— Democrats rally at Illinois State Fair ahead of midterms, decrying costs and corruption.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/illinois-state-fair-2026-governors-day-democrats-rally-springfield-ahead-midterm-election/19703516/
https://abc7chicago.com/videoClip/19704715/
— Illinois Tollway board votes to approve toll increases.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/illinois-tollway-board-vote-toll-increases/19701930/
CBS2
— Crowd turns out to honor U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin at brunch in Springfield.
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/crowd-turns-out-honor-u-s-sen-dick-durbin-springfield/
— More than 83,000 buildings, homes still without power in Northwest Indiana. DD: The more that overhead lines bring power to your home, the more that those lines are near trees, the more that I recommend getting a whole-house backup electric generator.
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/buildings-homes-still-without-power-northwest-indiana/
WGN9
— Democrats rally for Pritzker at Illinois State Fair ahead of gubernatorial rematch with Bailey.
https://wgntv.com/news/politics/democrats-rally-for-pritzker-at-illinois-state-fair-ahead-of-gubernatorial-rematch-with-bailey/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi7u2jipwuQ
FOX32
— Illinois sues Trump admin. over CDL records. Attorney General Kwame Raoul discusses Illinois’ lawsuit against the Trump administration over demands for personal information from millions of commercial drivers.
https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/fmc-unwo4l5f9wgl4sgv
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Illinois Democrats tout party dominance at State Fair but it’s clouded by harassment scandal and fraud case.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/19/democrats-illinois-state-fair/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Welch skips Illinois State Fair, where Democrats focus on Trump instead of harassment scandal. Democrats headed into the home stretch of the campaign season by hammering a familiar foe, while Chicago mayoral politics also made their way downstate.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/springfield/2026/08/19/chris-welch-state-fair-illinois-house-sexual-harassment-harry-benton
— What about Trump’s obsession with his critics? DD: My critics/opponents have taken many big adverse actions against me. They assume that because they have lots of clout, I will not take adverse actions against them in response.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/letters-to-the-editor/2026/08/19/trump-bears-illinois-indiana-stadium-ballys-city-council-traffic-stop
DAILY HERALD
— Illinois Democrats focused on Trump as they seek third sweep of statewide races.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260819/illinois-state-politics/illinois-democrats-focused-on-trump-as-they-seek-third-sweep-of-statewide-races/
— Tollway imposes 57% hikes on cars, 30% for trucks, with more to come.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260819/transportation/tollway-imposes-57-hikes-on-cars-30-for-trucks-with-more-to-come/
CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS
— In Illinois, Warren urges Democrats to unite behind all party nominees. Massachusetts senator delivers keynote in event honoring retiring Sen. Dick Durbin.
https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/in-illinois-warren-urges-democrats-to-unite-behind-all-party-nominees/
CAPITOL CITY NOW
— Warren rallies Illinois Democratic troops. The US senator from Massachusetts praised Gov Pritzker as a fighter: “Go, JB!”
https://capitolcitynow.com/news/248842-warren-rallies-illinois-democratic-troops/
CAPITOL FAX
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/19/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-582/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
ILLINOIS REPUBLICAN PARTY
— ILGOP Announces Jeff Castle as New State Central Committeeman for CD6
https://illinois.gop/news/
(THE PRESS RELEASE: Today, the Republican Party of Illinois announced that ILGOP Chairman Bob Grogan has resigned from his position as State Central Committeeman for the 6th Congressional District. Effective today, Grogan will be replaced by Jeff Castle, the Chairman of the Milton Republican Party and Secretary of the DuPage Republican Party. ILGOP Chair Bob Grogan released the following statement: “I always want to be replaced by someone better than me – and I have the perfect replacement in Jeff Castle. Jeff is the hardest-working volunteer in DuPage County and has been instrumental in moving the party forward, especially in the Collar Counties. Jeff will continue to be a fantastic champion for northern Illinois.” The Republican Party Chairs of the 6th Congressional District, consisting of Cook County and DuPage County, elected Castle unanimously. Castle was nominated by Cook County Chairman, Terrance Carr.)
ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE
— Illinois Tollway board approves largest passenger toll hike in Illinois history.
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-tollway-hike-approved/
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Corbett Complains That State Fair Has Only Democrat and Republican Days
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/19/corbett-complains-that-state-fair-has-only-democrat-and-republican-days/
— Democrats Pass Another Law That Would Keep ICE from Putting Illegals in McHenry County Jail
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/19/democrats-pass-another-law/
— Law Allows More Flexibility When Dealing with Juvenile Domestic Violence Situations
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/19/law-allows-more-flexibility-when-dealing-with-juvenile-domestic-violence-situations/
— Algonquin Township Board Doesn’t Use Robert’s Rules of Order
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/19/algonquin-township-board-doesnt-use-roberts-rules-of-order/
— Next Spring’s Election Petitions Now Available
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/19/next-springs-election-petitions-now-available/
— Catalina Lauf Loses Third Congressional Race
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/18/catalina-lauf-loses-third-congressional-race/
— Facebook Marketplace Deal Goes Awry
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/18/facebook-marketplace-deal-goes-awray/
— Newsletter Following Florida Politics Awards Illinois Ex-Pat Catalina Lauf “The Apprentice: Carpetbagger Edition,” Latest Polling Shows Close Race
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/18/newsletter-following-florida-politics-awards-illinois-ex-pat-catalina-lauf-the-apprentice-carpetbagger-edition-latest-polling-shows-close-race/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— Not so socialist: DSA leader lives in $1.5 million NYC row house purchased by his parents.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/19/not-socialist-dsa-leader-gustavo-gordillo-lives-15-million-nyc-row/
— Medicare for All: The Democratic Socialists of America’s Trojan horse. Government-run healthcare means rationing, fewer choices and more federal control.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/19/medicare-democratic-socialists-americas-trojan-horse/
— Who should control your life: You or the federal government? Young voters need more than warnings about communism’s bloody history.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/19/who-control-life-federal-government/
NEW YORK POST
— SF high school where 94% flunk math has California’s highest Berkeley acceptance rate.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/18/us-news/mission-high-boasts-top-berkeley-admit-rate-despite-math-failures/
— Deadbeat AOC’s student-loan mooching should be a red flag to her 2028 supporters.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/19/opinion/deadbeat-aocs-student-loan-mooching-should-be-red-flag-to-her-2028-supporters/
AARP
— What the Unemployment Rate Means for Older Adults. The rate for older workers increased in July as the nation lost jobs overall. DD: If you are forced to retire early, anticipate/expect that you will not be able to find a job appropriate for your work experience, education, and professional certifications/licenses. That is especially true if you are conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-veteran, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time.
https://www.aarp.org/work/job-search/unemployment-rate-older-workers/
— Unemployed Older Adults Encounter Age Discrimination.
https://www.aarp.org/pri/topics/work-finances-retirement/employers-workforce/long-term-unemployment-survey/
AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY
— DD: Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly promote more dependency on government, that is, they ever-increasingly destroy personal responsibility. My parents and teachers promoted personal responsibility. That put me on track to work my way through college, to earn a job-related bachelor’s degree, to earn three job-related master’s degrees, to earn six job-related professional certifications, and to earn a job-related professional license.
https://americansforprosperity.org/policy-corner/the-upward-mobility-act-is-a-step-forward-on-welfare-reform/
DAILY CALLER
— Colorado faced a new legal hurdle to a permit-to-purchase system that took effect August 1 when the National Rifle Association joined a state affiliate in seeking an injunction blocking the scheme. In April 2025, Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed legislation initially introduced as an outright ban on so-called “assault weapons” that required anyone wishing to buy a modern semiautomatic firearm, including the AR-15 rifle, to first receive a firearms safety course eligibility card, then complete a firearms safety course within five years.
https://dailycaller.com/2026/08/13/blue-states-planned-purchase-permit-system-for-semi-auto-guns-just-got-slapped-with-legal-hurdle/
HERITAGE FORNDATION
— U.S. Has a Culture of Dependency. DD: Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly promote more dependency on government, that is, they ever-increasingly destroy personal responsibility. My parents and teachers promoted personal responsibility. That put me on track to work my way through college, to earn a job-related bachelor’s degree, to earn three job-related master’s degrees, to earn six job-related professional certifications, and to earn a job-related professional license.
https://www.heritage.org/poverty-and-inequality/commentary/why-the-us-has-culture-dependency
— The Rise in Dependency. DD: Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly promote more dependency on government, that is, they ever-increasingly destroy personal responsibility. My parents and teachers promoted personal responsibility. That put me on track to work my way through college, to earn a job-related bachelor’s degree, to earn three job-related master’s degrees, to earn six job-related professional certifications, and to earn a job-related professional license.
https://www.heritage.org/commentary/the-rise-dependency
REASON
— Americans Grow Increasingly Dependent on Government Payments. Many citizens of the land of the free are hooked on government checks. DD: Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly promote more dependency on government, that is, they ever-increasingly destroy personal responsibility. My parents and teachers promoted personal responsibility. That put me on track to work my way through college, to earn a job-related bachelor’s degree, to earn three job-related master’s degrees, to earn six job-related professional certifications, and to earn a job-related professional license.
https://reason.com/2024/10/04/americans-grow-increasingly-dependent-on-government-payments/
US HOUSE
— More Americans Dependent on Welfare Checks, at the Expense of Work. DD: Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly promote more dependency on government, that is, they ever-increasingly destroy personal responsibility. My parents and teachers promoted personal responsibility. That put me on track to work my way through college, to earn a job-related bachelor’s degree, to earn three job-related master’s degrees, to earn six job-related professional certifications, and to earn a job-related professional license.
https://waysandmeans.house.gov/2025/01/08/new-report-shows-more-americans-dependent-on-welfare-checks-at-the-expense-of-work/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
MOUNTAIN DEMOCRAT
— Sheriffs, NRA oppose law requiring training for gun purchases. Opponents sue Colorado over new requirement for purchasers of semiautomatic firearms, rapid-fire devices.
https://www.mtdemocrat.com/news/national/sheriffs-nra-oppose-law-requiring-training-for-gun-purchases/article_6302cacf-de53-5865-a86c-4b42ff420a32.html
FORBES
— During a Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association event on Wednesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) criticized the Republican Party.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Eg0Ct7r1s8
FINANCIAL POST
— With $2.4 million in assets, does George need to double that to retire at 50? DD: My retirement income and savings are dramatically less because my Democrat superiors wasted my career and forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997.
https://financialpost.com/personal-finance/family-finance/does-george-need-double-assets-retire-50
PARADE MAGAZINE
— Being Forced Into Retirement Is One of the Most Damaging Things That Can Happen to You. DD: I should write about that.
https://parade.com/living/being-forced-into-retirement-can-negatively-impact-mental-health
ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE
— Educated, experienced, and out of work. Long-term joblessness continues to plague the unemployed.
https://www.epi.org/publication/issuebriefs_ib198/
August 18, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
FOX32
— Reaction after Chicago-area mayor grazed in deadly restaurant shooting. Robbins Mayor Darren Bryant was grazed when a masked gunman opened fire inside a restaurant early Saturday. A private security guard reportedly returned fire, killing the gunman. A DJ was also wounded. The gunman who died has been identified.
https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/fmc-5tngxhltxyhq6zkf
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— In Lake County, Democratic Socialists supporting like-minded candidates: ‘People who share our values.’ DD: How strongly are socialists promoting Democrat candidates in your county?
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/17/lake-county-democratic-socialists/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Chicago Teachers Union sues Illinois Policy Institute for ‘toxic’ branding, ‘defamatory’ claims about audits. The CTU is framing the suit as its president, Stacy Davis Gates, “standing up to the multimillion dollar marketing firm Illinois Policy Institute,” the Liberty Justice Center and Austin Berg, IPI’s marketing vice president.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2026/08/17/chicago-teachers-union-illinois-policy-institute-defamation-lawsuit-stacy-davis-gates
CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— JPMorgan Chase opens Mag Mile flagship as wealth management competition heats up. The financial center is dedicated to clients with investable assets between $1 million and $5 million — a segment of customers the bank began targeting in 2025. DD: According to Investopedia, About one in seven U.S. households headed by someone 65 or older has $1 million or more in financial assets. Married households are about three times as likely as single households to reach that mark. College graduates are several times more likely than those with only a high school diploma to have at least $1 million, as are homeowners compared with renters.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/banking-finance/ccb-jpmorgan-wealth-magnificent-mile-20260817/
WBEZ
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.wbez.org/immigration/2026/08/18/illinois-lawmakers-want-chaotic-mega-master-hearings-at-chicagos-immigration-court-to-end
WHEATON PATCH
— 2 Initiatives Introduced By DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office Signed Into Law.
https://patch.com/illinois/wheaton/amp/34654605/2-initiatives-introduced-by-dupage-county-states-attorneys-office-signed-into-law
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— School board showdown splits unions.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/08/18/school-board-showdown-splitting-unions-01039775
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/18/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-793/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Democrats embrace socialist calls to abolish ICE.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/4689804/democrats-embrace-socialist-call-abolish-ice/
— Majority of Americans say they’re worse off financially since Trump took office again.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/4689645/majority-americans-worse-off-financially-trump-second-term-poll/
— Trump approval sinks to new low as voters fear prolonged Iran war.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/4690392/trump-approval-rating-iran-war-poll/
CENTER SQUARE NEW YORK
— Second amendment groups sue New York over ‘Glock’ handgun ban.
https://www.thecentersquare.com/new_york/article_34a7616f-3cc6-4092-913e-979f5c74099d.html
CREATORS SYNDICATE
— Schumer Thanks Expletive-Using Duckworth for Her Beautiful Words.
https://www.creators.com/read/daily-editorials/08/26/schumer-thanks-expletive-using-senator-for-her-beautiful-words-1a8a0
COLLEGE FIX
— Indiana U. professor not reappointed after complaint she linked MAGA to ‘white supremacy. DD: To get more votes from non-Whites, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly blame Republicans for all the problems that non-Whites have.
https://www.thecollegefix.com/indiana-u-professor-not-reappointed-after-complaint-she-linked-maga-to-white-supremacy/
DAILY WIRE
— The Hidden Way Corporate Lawfare Is Keeping DEI Alive.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-hidden-way-corporate-lawfare-is-keeping-dei-alive
EPOCH TIMES
— Why Teens Are Struggling to Find Summer Jobs. DD: When you were a teen, what did you do when you were not in school? I did yard work 1962-1964. I delivered newspapers 1962-1966. I washed dishes 1964-1966. I cleaned golf shoes, chipped slag, and pumped gasoline in 1966. I delivered mail 1966-1969.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/why-teens-are-struggling-to-find-summer-jobs-6050689
FOX BUSINESS
— ‘CHAMPAGNE SOCIALISTS’: Trump advisor CALLS OUT wealthy socialist leaders.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlSmkcN4GPI
— Democrats are going to go down the path of where socialists will take them.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8gquzy5MHEY
FOX NEWS
— NY socialist defends shoplifting for ‘biological need.’
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403606093112
— Illegal immigrant learns fate after using stolen identity to vote in US elections for decades.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/illegal-immigrant-learns-fate-after-using-stolen-identity-vote-us-elections-decades
LEGAL INSURRECTION
— CBS News Poll Finds 58% of Democrats Have a Positive View of Socialism. Socialism finds more positive views among Democrats with college degrees than those without. DD: I avoided Democrat indoctrination by majoring in business, accounting, and finance.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2026/08/cbs-news-poll-finds-58-of-democrats-have-a-positive-view-of-socialism/
NATIONAL REVIEW
— I Still Think IVF Should Be Banned.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2026/08/i-still-think-ivf-should-be-banned/
NEWSMAX
— Fetterman: Democrat Support of Socialism is Lunacy.
https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/john-fetterman-socialism-democrats/2026/08/17/id/1266373/
PJ MEDIA
— Fetterman Torches His Own Party After Poll Exposes Its Socialism Problem.
https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/08/17/fetterman-trashes-socialism-in-his-party-n4956235
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
THE HILL
— Democrats hold more favorable view of socialism than capitalism.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6033535-cbs-yougov-socialism-poll-results/
— 23 percent of Republicans say they’re worse off since second Trump term began.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6032764-donald-trump-second-term-republicans-survey/
ABC NEWS
— Socialism more popular than capitalism among Democrats. DD: How strongly are socialists promoting Democrat candidates in your county?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8QyohAabwk
CBS NEWS
— DD: Hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-haters blame Trump for the of socialism. Then again, they blame Trump for everything that is bad.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/how-economic-conditions-are-fueling-a-rise-of-us-socialism/
NEWSWEEK
— Trump’s approval rating is underwater in all but Idaho, West Virginia and Wyoming.
https://www.newsweek.com/map-shows-only-three-states-that-approve-of-donald-trump-12333143
AOL
— Curfews, drones, and criminal charges: Cities differ on approaches to ‘teen takeovers.’ DD: What is your municipality doing to stop Democrat teen takeovers?
https://www.aol.com/articles/curfews-drones-criminal-charges-cities-140006000.html
— Why the American Dream feels like a fantasy to many. DD: What did you do to achieve the American Dream? I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree. I earned three job-related master’s degrees. I earned six job-related professional certifications. I earned a job-related professional license.
https://www.aol.com/articles/why-american-dream-feels-fantasy-160806000.html
NEW YORK TIMES
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly blame Trump for inflation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/15/business/inflation-worker-pay.html
USA TODAY
— Socialist insurgency comes to Florida Democratic primaries Aug. 18.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/08/18/florida-primary-democratic-socialist-byron-donalds-governor/91343768007/
— Fetterman blasts Democrats on new socialism polling results.
https://www.usatoday.com/embed/video/91339455007/
— Half of workers fear they will never fully retire. DD: I got in line for a Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) pension when I was 18 in 1966. I have been getting a CSRS pension, currently $68,640/year, since I was 49 in 1997. My critics/opponents have always been furious about that. In my defense, I paid 7% of my federal salary into the CSRS. Further, I would not have become a postal employee in 1966 if my high school friend had not asked me to join him in taking the postal employment test. Further, I would not have become an IRS employee in 1971 if Oldsmobile had not withdrawn a job offer that I had accepted because Oldsmobile had just agreed to stop hiring Whites to settle an EEOC complaint.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personal-finance/2026/08/15/american-workers-fear-no-full-retirement/91277362007/
— DD: The more that you promote conservative principles, the more that you promote planks in the Republican Party platform, the more that Democrats and RINOs call you an extremist.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2026/08/09/republican-definition-extremism-democratic-socialist/91197531007/
ORLANDO
— Most Americans think the economic system is rigged. DD: Democrats run the federal government. They rig everything a) to favor their Democrat employees who are minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time and b) to waste the careers of and to get rid of their Republican employees who are White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time.
https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2026/08/18/poll-most-americans-think-the-economic-system-is-rigged-and-its-shaping-midterm-politics/
MIAMI HERALD
— Becker CPA Review: Is the Prep Course Worth It? DD: I would not have passed the CPA examination on my first attempt when I was 30 in 1979 if I had not a) taken the Becker CPA Review, b) taken graduate evening accounting courses at DePaul, c) earned an MBA from Loyola, and d) worked for IRS for 8 years.
https://www.miamiherald.com/careers-education/becker-cpa-review/
WKDQ
— Traveling With Weed From Illinois Could Land You In Jail.
https://wkdq.com/ixp/722/p/cannabis-travel-laws-illinois/
NEWS24
— Democratic Socialists are desperate to tear the US down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkxdcNylghw
— Americans are ignorant of the long list of failed socialist states as DSA support continues to grow.
https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/national/americans-ignorant-to-long-list-of-failed-socialist-states-as-dsa-support-continues-to-grow/video/03c126ee47d49140ada8711716d5d6a0
NTD
— Socialists Do Not Want Progress, They Want Control.
https://www.ntd.com/ntdplus/economist-warns-of-the-socialist-trap-for-americans-they-dont-want-progress-what-they-want-is-control_1166829.html
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Bean Counting, Antisemitism and the EEOC. Reports on workforce demography not only encourage quotas but mask discrimination. DD: Ever-increasingly, since the 1960s, the top priority for those above me has been a) giving preference to those who are minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, have ancestors who have not been in America for the long time, and/or are noncitizens and b) getting rid of those who are not the aforesaid.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/bean-counting-antisemitism-and-the-eeoc-3b1531d5
— A Senate Food Fight on SNAP Welfare Waste. Democrats want the farm bill to delay state accountability for improper payments.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/gop-retreat-food-stamps-snap-improper-benefits-congress-0c7ac1a6
BLOOMBERG
— The American Dream Now Comes With a Survival Guide. DD: What has helped you deal with inflation? COLAs have helped me deal with inflation big time. My critics/opponents are furious that I got COLAs while I worked for the federal government 1966-1969 and 1971-1997 and that I have continued to get COLAs as a federal retiree since 1997 and as a Social Security recipient since 2010.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2026-08-17/the-american-dream-now-comes-with-a-survival-guide
BLOOMBERG LAW
— Trump Defangs Independent Watchdog of Civil Service Disputes. DD: Federal employees who are the following have no Civil Service protections: conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-veteran, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. Democrats run the federal government. For Democrats, the federal government exists to hire, retain, and promote Democrats who are minority, female, younger, and/or veteran. I am none of the aforesaid. To get rid of me, my Democrat Post Office, IRS, and GAO superiors punished me a) for my not becoming a Democrat, b) for my avoiding the Vietnam War draft, c) for my complaining about their political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation, and d) for my being an active member in a class action lawsuit that charged them with the aforesaid. Unions provide some protection. But GAO did not unionize until 2007. If GAO had been unionized when I transferred from IRS to GAO when I was 31 in 1980, my Democrat GAO superiors might not have been able to take the many big adverse actions against me that they did including forcing me to retire when I was 49 in 1997.
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/trump-defangs-independent-watchdog-of-civil-service-disputes
FORBES
— Reparations. DD: Affirmative Action (AA) and DEI are reparations. Blacks have been given many trillions of dollars in AA and DEI since the 1960s, that is, Blacks have been given many trillions of dollars in reparations since the 1960s. Democrats and RINOs make Republicans pay the price of AA and DEI, that is, they make Republicans pay the price of reparations. What my Democrat GAO superiors did to me is a classic example. They forced me to retire and gave my Black subordinate my job and my preferred corner office. He had less job-related education than I had. He had less job-related work experience than I had. He had one job-related professional certification while I had six. I had no job-related professional license like the one I had.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2026/08/14/leading-through-backlash-nycs-fight-for-reparations/
24/7 WALL STREET
— At 65, the FAA Forced Him Out of the Airline Cockpit. Social Security Still Called Him Two Years Early. DD: My critics/opponents stress that while my Democrat GAO superiors forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997, since then, a) I have gotten a Civil Service Retirement System pension, currently $68,640/year and b) the federal government has paid 72% of my and my wife’s healthcare insurance.
https://247wallst.com/personal-finance/social-security/2026/08/17/at-65-the-faa-forced-him-out-of-the-airline-cockpit-social-security-still-called-him-two-years-early/
FED SMITH
— Locality Pay: Why a GS-13 in San Francisco Earns About $30,000 More Than “Rest of U.S.” 2026 federal locality pay supplements range from 17.06% to 46.34%. See how it affects GS-13 salaries, high-3 averages, and annuities across top and bottom areas. DD: My critics/opponents have always been furious that I benefitted from locality pay 1994-1997.
https://www.fedsmith.com/2026/08/17/locality-pay-gs13-san-francisco-vs-rest-of-us/
FEDERAL NEWS NETWORK
— The number of so-called TSP millionaires trends downward. As of April 1, there were about 185,000 Thrift Savings Plan participants with accounts totaling over $1 million. Compared with the previous fiscal quarter, that means there are now about 10,000 fewer TSP millionaires. Latest reports show that million-dollar accounts make up about 2.5% of the nearly 7.3 million total TSP accounts.
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/federal-newscast/2026/04/the-number-of-so-called-tsp-millionaires-trends-downward/
AFGE
— AFGE Highlights Administration’s Attacks on Federal Workers During NAACP Conference. DD: According to my critics/opponents, I have always been grossly overpaid. They stress that I was a union member for almost 12 years, almost 3 years while I worked for the Post Office 1966-1969 and almost 9 years while I worked for IRS 1971-1980. In today’s dollars, a) my Post Office salary increased from $19.57/hour to $20.87/hour and b) my IRS salary increased from $56,409/year to $113,402/year. In my defense, during that time, I stress that I earned a bachelor’s degree in management in 1970, I earned an MBA in 1976, I passed the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979, and I almost completed the requirements for a master’s degree in accounting.
https://www.afge.org/article/afge-highlights-administrations-attacks-on-federal-workers-during-naacp-conference/
MONDAQ
— Illinois Curbs Ability To Require Driver’s License In Job Postings. DD: My Post Office, IRS, and GAO jobs required me to have a driver’s license. The Post Office paid me mileage for my using my 1966 Pontiac Tempest Sprint, 1968 Oldsmobile 442, and 1969 Dodge Charger SE to deliver mail. IRS paid me milage for my using my 1962 Chevrolet BelAir and my 1978 Chevrolet Chevette to make field calls. GAO paid me mileage for my using my Chevette to travel to audit sites.
https://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/employee-rights-labour-relations/1831958/illinois-curbs-ability-to-require-drivers-license-in-job-postings
FROM FOREIGN SOURCES
TIMES OF INDIA
— ‘Five to eight years behind’: UC Berkeley professor raises alarm over student math skills.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/news/five-to-eight-years-behind-uc-berkeley-professor-raises-alarm-over-student-math-skills/articleshow/133313658.cms
August 17, 2026 Evening Edition
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC7
— New recruits joining military in big numbers, but not for reason Hegseth says. The economy is driving young Americans’ enlistments, according to Pentagon data.
https://abc7chicago.com/story/us-military-news-new-recruits-enlisting-big-numbers-not-reason-defense-secretary-pete-hegseth-says/19693144/
— Dramatic decline in people becoming new citizens in Chicago area this year. DD: Democrat leaders give tremendous benefits to noncitizens.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-area-naturalizations-drop-dramatically-more-80-2026-federal-citizenship-data-shows/19599022/
— Bailey calls for ending tolls; Pritzker questions funding plan. Toll revenues fund construction projects.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/republican-illinois-governor-candidate-darren-bailey-calls-ending-tolls-gov-jb-pritzker-questions-funding-plan/19694196/
NBC5
— Wheaton ZIP code 60187 named among America’s hottest housing markets for 2026.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/suburban-chicago-zip-code-named-among-americas-hottest-housing-markets-for-2026/3976579/
CBS2
— Some NIPSCO customers in northwest Indiana frustrated after nearly week without power. DD: The more that overhead lines bring power to your home, the more that those lines are near trees, the more that I recommend getting a whole-house backup electric generator.
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/northwest-indiana-power-outage-nipsco/
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Illinois spent big during COVID and the migrant crisis. Who was watching the bills?
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/17/favorite-staffing-covid-migrants-contractor-chris-meister/
— Northwest Indiana communities frustrated with extended NIPSCO outages. DD: The more that overhead lines bring power to your home, the more that those lines are near trees, the more that I recommend getting a whole-house backup electric generator.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/17/northwest-indiana-frustrated-extended-nipsco-outages/
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/17/ice-legal-insurance-local-officers/
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Thousands of Gary residents still without power after last week’s deadly storms. As of Monday afternoon, more than 100,000 Indiana residents were without electricity, according to utility company NIPSCO, after over 300,000 people lost power because of the storms. DD: The more that overhead lines bring power to your home, the more that those lines are near trees, the more that I recommend getting a whole-house backup electric generator.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/weather/2026/08/17/gary-indiana-residents-without-power-deadly-storms
— DD: To get more votes from Blacks, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly shout at non-Whites that Republicans cause all the problems that non-Whites have.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/other-views/2026/08/17/anti-dei-trump-chicago-cps-firefighters-black-brown-equity-donathan-brown
DAILY HERALD
— Geneva’s annual Concours d’Elegance returns Aug. 23 with 200 vintage cars.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260817/submitted-content/genevas-annual-concours-delegance-returns-aug-23-with-over-200-vintage-cars/
SAUK VALLEY
— Tri-County GOP candidates’ meet-and-greet event set for 3 counties at 3 locations at 3 times Sept. 24.
https://www.shawlocal.com/sauk-valley/2026/08/17/tri-county-gop-candidates-meet-and-greet-event-set-for-3-counties-at-3-locations-at-3-times-sept-24/
BURR RIDGE PATCH
— Burr Ridge Park District Bars Patricia Kladis-Schiappa’s Event. The candidate is asking the agency to reconsider. She says she cannot accept “the suppression or cancellation” of a community discussion.
https://patch.com/illinois/burrridge/burr-ridge-agency-wont-allow-local-politicians-event
IPM NEWS
— Bailey on SAFE-T Act, budget, and Illinois schools.
https://ipmnewsroom.org/republican-gubernatorial-candidate-darren-bailey-on-safe-t-act-budget-and-illinois-schools/
CAPITOL FAX
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/17/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-580/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— What is your Republican Precinct Committeeman going to do to get out the vote? As the Republican Precinct Committeeman for DuPage County Milton Township Precinct 59 in Wheaton, I will hand-deliver to the 400 residences in my precinct that have at least one Republican or one Independent registered voter a copy of the sample ballot, campaign literature from all the candidates who provide their literature to the Milton Township Republican Organization (MTRO), and a MTRO voter guide. I have obtained a PDF file from the DuPage County Election Division mailing with labels for the 660 Republican and Independent registered voters in my precinct. I have printed out those labels and I am in the process of affixing them to envelopes provided by MTRO and putting them into five batches in walk order. I will be stuffing those envelopes with MTRO’s voter guide, literature that candidates provided MTRO, and the sample ballot. The Republican candidates on the ballot in my precinct are: Tracy, Bailey/Del Mar, Fioretti, Harris, Drew, Soloman, Oakley, Lewis, Vrankovich, Grasso, Noonan, Schiappa, Henry, Eckhoff, Michaud, Schultz, Quirk, and Helland. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— New Law Allows Veterans Second Set of Special License Plates
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/15/new-law-veterans-second-set-of-special-license-plates/
— State Believes It Can Create and Preserve Affordable Housing
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/15/state-believes-it-can-create-and-preserve-affordable-housing/
— Steve Willson’s Letter Blasting Proposed Rockford-Chicago Passenger Trains Make Front Page of Rockford Register-Star Email
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/15/steve-willsons-letter-blasting-proposed-rockford-chicago-passenger-trains-make-front-page-of-rockford-register-star-email/
— Running for Chicago Mayor, Mike Quigley Willing to Risk His Future to Save Chicago, Is Trump Willing to Do the Same to Beat Iran?
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/15/running-for-chicago-mayor-mike-quigley-willing-to-risk-his-future-to-save-chicago-is-trump-willing-to-do-the-same-to-beat-iran/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote voters who are anti-conservative, anti-Republican, anti-American, anti-White, anti-male, anti-older people, anti-Christian, anti-German American, and/or anti-those who have ancestors who have been in America for a long time. That is, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote the Democrat Party’s base.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/17/catholic-league-warns-massachusetts-legislation-would-give/
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Democrats are embracing socialism. Americans aren’t.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4687755/democrats-embracing-socialism-polling/
NEW YORK POST
— Shoplifting isn’t need, it’s just plain greed.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/17/opinion/hey-progressives-shoplifting-isnt-need-its-just-plain-greed/
DAILY SIGNAL
— The DSA Has a Diversity Problem.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/08/17/the-dsa-has-a-diversity-problem-dsa/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
FLORIDA POLITICS
— Millions were spent in CD 19 GOP Primary, but will a late Donald Trump endorsement decide the race?
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/814362-millions-were-spent-in-cd-19-gop-primary-but-will-a-late-donald-trump-endorsement-decide-the-race/
PEW RESEARCH
— Refugee admissions to the U.S. are dropping sharply in Trump’s second term.
https://www.pewresearch.org/publications/
FROM OTHER SOURCES
REALTOR
— FOR SALE IN MY WHEATON PRECINCT:
25W451 Plamondon Road – $3,300,000
25W471 Plamondon Road – $2,400,000
1021 Greenwood Drive – $1,000,000
1160 Midwest Lane – $1,000,000
1028 Lodalia Court (lot) – $415,000
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/60189/sby-2
HOMES
— FOR SALE IN MY WHEATON PRECINCT: 25W328 Plamondon Road (lot) – $299,900
https://www.homes.com/property/25w328-plamondon-rd-wheaton-il/n6npjnwsm9jnz/
August 14, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— DuPage board rejects referendum on eliminating elected coroner position.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/13/dupage-board-referendum-coroner-examiner/
DAILY HERALD
— DuPage board rejects proposed referendum on eliminating coroner elections.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260813/news/dupage-county-board-rejects-proposal-for-referendum-on-coroners-office/
— A twofold mission: Historic cemeteries deserve to be both preserved and visited. DD: I served as a Trustee of the Milton Township Cemeteries Authority 2001-2004.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260814/editorials/daily-herald-opinion-a-twofold-mission-historic-cemeteries-deserve-to-be-both-preserved-and-visite/
CBS2
— Chicago’s Agents of Hope Training & Information Center works to connect refugees with jobs. DD: All my employers would have hired noncitizens instead of me if they could have. My critics/opponents cannot say that because they had wealthy parents. Noncitizens work for less money and they are easier to exploit. I did yard work 1962-1964. I delivered newspapers 1962-1966. I washed dishes 1964-1966. I cleaned golf shoes, chipped slag, and pumped gasoline in 1966. I delivering mail 1966-1969. I worked on an automotive assembly line in 1970. I sold tires, automotive services, and major appliances 1970-1971. I pumped more gasoline 1971-1972. I collected delinquent federal taxes 1971-1980. I audited federal agencies 1980-1997. Many, if not most, if not virtually all of my peers would not have stooped to take the aforesaid bad jobs that I took.
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/chicagos-agents-of-hope-training-information-center-refugees/
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Bears keep Illinois on hold.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/08/14/bears-keep-indiana-on-hold-01037042
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/14/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-791/
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/13/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-578/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
CENTER SQUARE ILLINOIS
— Illinois taxpayers provide nearly $190 million for state fair.
https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_5c826519-4401-4b3a-9c8e-3062a52233e3.html
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— Democrats pick classic tax-and-spend leftist David Crowley for Wisconsin governor. Milwaukee’s county executive brings higher taxes, bigger government and socialist-friendly policies.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/13/democrats-pick-classic-tax-spend-leftist-david-crowley-wisconsin/
— America’s marijuana addiction fuels a public-health crisis. Daily use now outpaces cigarettes and alcohol as high-THC products raise risks for teens, drivers and workers. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly push more pot. In 2019, I led the successful effort to ban the sale of pot in Wheaton.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/12/editorial-americas-marijuana-addiction-fuels-public-health-crisis/
— Radical Islam’s three-stage framework for cultural capture. America now faces the point where accommodation turns into political power.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/13/radical-islams-three-stage-framework-cultural-capture/
— State Department cancels DEI diplomacy; ‘White Fragility,’ BLM lessons expunged from training.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/13/state-department-cancels-dei-diplomacy-white-fragility-blm-lessons/
— The Democrats’ socialist moment: Revolution or rebranding? Hillary Clinton is worried that GOP branding of progressive candidates as communists ‘is going to be a very effective attack.’
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/12/democrats-socialist-moment-revolution-rebranding/
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— 26,000 truckers can’t read English road signs. Why are they driving 80,000-pound missiles?
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4684338/commercial-trucker-english-proficiency-rule/
— State Department abolishes ‘ideologically extreme and discriminatory’ DEI policies in Foreign Service.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/foreign-policy/4686789/state-department-abolishes-dei-policies-foreign-service/
— Dearborn isn’t a ‘walk for peace’: How Tehran launders the extremism America refuses to see.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4685462/dearborn-walk-for-peace-tehran-extremism-americas-streets/
— The most dangerous socialists aren’t in DC. They’re running for governor.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4684714/most-dangerous-socialists-running-for-governor-francesca-hong-wisconsin/
— California is democratic socialism’s future — and it’s dead last.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/op-eds/4685813/blue-state-affordability-crisis-capitalism/
— COLA increase estimated to be 3.2% in 2027 after summer inflation reports. DD: COLAs have helped me deal inflation big time. My critics/opponents are furious that I got COLAs while I worked for the federal government 1966-1969 and 1971-1997 and that I have continued to get COLAs as a federal retiree since 1997 and as a Social Security recipient since 2010.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/4686000/social-security-cost-of-living-adjustment-2027-inflation/
— Catalina Lauf takes on the ‘swamp’ in her new book. Now she wants a seat in it.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/congressional/4683661/catalina-lauf-new-book-congress/
NEW YORK POST
— NYC will spend $180K in effort to curb rampant dog poop problem.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/13/us-news/nyc-will-spend-180k-in-effort-to-curb-rampant-dog-poop-problem/
— Vance warns Republicans not to blame young Americans for the appeal of socialism. DD: Republican-haters love it that Vance blames Republicans when young people blame capitalism for their problems and want socialism to fix their problems. I never blamed capitalism for my problems. What problems have you had? My critics/opponents stress that under capitalism, even though I did the following, I never earned more than $154,682/year in today’s dollars. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree (management). I earned three job-related master’s degrees (business, accounting, and finance). I earned six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting). I earned a job-related professional license (CPA). In my defense, I stress that I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government. For them, the federal government exists to hire, retain, and promote Democrats. Because I refused to become a Democrat, they wasted my career and got rid of me. If I had become a Democrat, they would have forgiven my avoiding the Vietnam War draft.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/14/us-news/jd-vance-warns-republicans-not-to-blame-young-americans-for-the-appeal-of-socialism/
AMERICAN GREATNESS
— Nearly Half of Young Americans Still Living With Parents as Affordability Squeeze Delays Adulthood. DD: I lived with and helped support my mother and brother in Crete for 25 months after I graduated from college. My father had died suddenly when he was 47 and I was 21 in October of 1969. He was earning only $50,000/year in today’s dollars. My mother had never attended high school, she had never worked outside the home, and my brother was having problems. I graduated from NIU in August of 1970 and I got a job working for the Firestone Store in Chicago Heights that month. I applied for and I got a financial hardship draft deferment. I lived with mother and brother in Crete and helped support them until September of 1972 when I bought a new townhome in University Park.
https://amgreatness.com/2026/08/13/nearly-half-of-young-americans-still-living-with-parents-as-affordability-squeeze-delays-adulthood/
AMERICAN THINKER
— If Democrats Walk Like Socialists And Talk Like Socialists, They’re Socialists. The media and other Democrats keep trying to tell us there’s daylight between the Democrat and the Democrat Socialists, but that’s increasingly hard to believe.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/08/if-democrats-walk-like-socialisst-and-talk-like-socialists-maybe-they-re-socialists/
— The Mohammunist Manifest—Trojan-Horsing Society’s Institutions. When they are weak, communists and Muslims create seemingly durable pluralist partnerships that they then ruthlessly destroy once they achieve power.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/08/the-mohammunist-manifest-trojan-horsing-society-s-institutions/
— AOC retains the option to become a ‘birthing person.’ AOC has debilitating daddy issues. She also has malevolent mental issues. In fact, the former often exacerbates the latter.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/08/aoc-retains-the-option-to-become-a-birthing-person/
BIZ PAC REVIEW
— Colorado’s planned purchase permit system for semi-auto guns just got slapped with legal hurdle.
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2026/08/13/colorados-planned-purchase-permit-system-for-semi-auto-guns-just-got-slapped-with-legal-hurdle-1654696/
BREITBART
— Dallas Airport Installing Foot Washing Stations for Muslim Travelers.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/13/dallas-airport-installing-foot-washing-stations-for-muslim-travelers/
— 52 Percent of Gen Z Morons Have Moved Money From Investments to Sports Betting. DD: Sports Betting is a vice.
https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2026/08/13/nolte-52-percent-of-gen-z-morons-have-moved-money-from-investments-to-sports-betting/
— Socialists and Islamists have this in common: anti-Jew, anti-Israel, and covetousness.
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2026/08/13/exclusive-dennis-prager-the-one-thing-socialists-and-islamists-have-in-common/
FEDERALIST
— Lawsuit: It’s Unconstitutional That Education Is ‘Free,’ But Only At Government Indoctrination Mills. DD: My parents sent me to Missouri Synod Lutheran grade schools 1953-1962. That put me on track to earn a job-related bachelor’s degree, three job-related master’s degrees, six job-related professional certifications, and a job-related professional license. I avoided Democrat indoctrination by majoring in business, accounting, and finance.
https://thefederalist.com/2026/08/13/lawsuit-its-unconstitutional-that-education-is-free-but-only-at-government-indoctrination-mills/
FOX NEWS
— Speaker Johnson slams Dems after noncitizens were charged with illegally voting in battleground state.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/speaker-johnson-slams-dems-after-noncitizens-charged-illegally-voting-battleground-state
NEWSMAX
— Eight Senate Democrats, including Schumer call on GAO to audit Trump’s White House ballroom project, citing concerns over its funding, contracting practices, and lack of congressional oversight.
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/gao-white-house-ballroom/2026/08/13/id/1266017/
REAL CLEAR MARKETS
— Socialism’s Failures Run Roughshod Over Its Promises.
https://www.realclearmarkets.com/2026/08/14/socialisms_failures_run_roughshod_over_its_promises_1200303.html
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
THE HILL
— DD: Republican-haters love it that Vance blames Republicans when young people blame capitalism for their problems and want socialism to fix their problems. I never blamed capitalism for my problems. What problems have you had? My critics/opponents stress that under capitalism, even though I did the following, I never earned more than $154,682/year in today’s dollars. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree (management). I earned three job-related master’s degrees (business, accounting, and finance). I earned six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting). I earned a job-related professional license (CPA). In my defense, I stress that I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government. For them, the federal government exists to hire, retain, and promote Democrats. Because I refused to become a Democrat, they wasted my career and got rid of me. If I had become a Democrat, they would have forgiven my avoiding the Vietnam War draft.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6028771-vance-gop-socialism-young-voters/
CNN
— As Chicago rethinks its monuments, an artist surrounds George Washington with ‘Other Washingtons.’
https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/11/style/chicago-washington-monument-amanda-williams
AOL
— Why Traditional Middle-Class Milestones Like Kids, Marriage, and Cars Are Out of Reach for Many Americans. DD: What did you do to qualify yourself for better paying jobs? I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree. I earned three job-related master’s degrees. I earned six job-related professional certifications. I earned a job-related professional license.
https://www.aol.com/articles/why-traditional-middle-class-milestones-190500000.html
NEWSWEEK
— How China Is Changing Its Social Credit System. DD: What costs you points in the Democrat/RINO Social Credit System? For me, it is my being conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and my having ancestors who have been in America for a long time. For me, it is my promoting conservative principles and the personal responsibility, traditional marriage and family, right to life, immigration, anti-vice, Second Amendment, and equal opportunity (no race or gender based preference giving) planks in the Republican Party platform.
https://www.newsweek.com/how-china-changing-its-social-credit-system-11079499
NEW YORK TIMES
— DD: My critics/opponents are woke, that is, they promote dependency on government and charity, LGBTQ, abortion, mass/illegal immigration, vices, diminishment of Second Amendment rights, and Affirmative Action and DEI, that is, race and gender based preference giving, patronage, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/14/opinion/republicans-woke-radical.html
USA TODAY
— College costs are rising. Here’s what the average family pays. DD: Back in the good old days, in 1970, I was able to graduate debt-free with a bachelor’s degree in management from NIU and owning a 1969 Dodge Charger SE a) by living with my parents in Crete while I took classes at UIC 1966-1968, weekends during my first semester at NIU in 1969, and the summer of 1969 and b) by working part-time for the Park Forest Post Office while classes were in session and full-time during the summers of 1967, 1968, and 1969. In today’s dollars, my postal salary increased from $19.57/hour to $20.87/hour.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personal-finance/2026/08/12/college-costs-inflation-student-loans-tuition/91257662007/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— AOC Tries to Make a Joke of Woke. Ask those who were canceled, or killed by released criminals, how funny it was. DD: My critics/opponents are woke, that is, they promote dependency on government and charity, LGBTQ, abortion, mass/illegal immigration, vices, diminishment of Second Amendment rights, and Affirmative Action and DEI, that is, race and gender based preference giving, patronage, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, and national origin discrimination.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/aoc-tries-to-make-a-joke-of-woke-f5ca5733?mod=opinion_lead_pos8
NAPLES DAILY NEWS
— Things continue to worsen in the American classroom. In the U.S., test scores have been sliding since 2013, while students in Japan, Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, South Korea and many European countries have made steady improvements. DD: Democrats run education in America. For Democrat educators, cranking out good little Democrats is their top priority.
https://www.naplesnews.com/story/opinion/2026/08/14/things-continue-to-worsen-in-the-american-classroom-opinion/91284126007/
WBUR
— Is upward mobility still possible? Fewer Americans out-earn their parents than in previous generations. DD: Back in the good old days, I was able to out-earn my father when I was 21 in 1970 because I earned a bachelor’s degree in management from NIU.
https://www.wbur.org/the-wbur-festival/2026/08/13/wbur-fest-chetty-boston
WBAP
— State Department Ends DEI Agenda In Foreign Service, Restores Merit-Based Standards. DD: All my coworkers who my Democrat superiors in the federal government promoted over me were Democrats who had less education than I had, had less work experience than I had, had no professional certification or fewer than I had, and/or had no professional license like the one I had and/or b) were minority, female, younger, veteran, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or had ancestors who had not been in America for a long time.
https://www.wbap.com/2026/08/13/state-department-ends-dei-agenda-in-foreign-service-restores-merit-based-standards/
NEWS 24
— Democratic socialists are people of privilege.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7ER_IEiInQ
CBS12
— Single adults need to make over $100,000 to live comfortably in Florida. DD: I did not start earning $100,000/year in today’s dollars until I was 25 in 1974. I had worked for IRS for 3 years. I had completed ten graduate evening business courses at Loyola.
https://cbs12.com/news/local/gallery/single-adults-need-to-make-over-100000-dollars-to-live-comfortably-in-florida-smartasset-study-says-palm-beach-county-109200-martin-county-101338-st-lucie-county-99341-cost-of-living-expense-inflation-earnings-families-affordability
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
— Grant County auditor candidates discuss experience, qualifications. DD: I worked hard to elect Grogan and reelect Grogan as DuPage County Auditor in 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024. Grogan and I are both long-time DuPage County residents, Republican Precinct Committeemen, licensed CPAs, Certified Fraud Examiners, and members of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, and Illinois CPA Society. Grogan represented me on the IRP State Central Committee 2018-2022.
https://columbiabasinherald.com/news/2026/jul/28/grant-county-auditor-candidates-discuss-experience-qualifications/
FLORIDA POLITICS
— Catalina Lauf send cease and desist letter to Jim Oberweis over attack ads.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/813658-catalina-lauf-send-cease-and-desist-letter-to-jim-oberweis-over-attack-ads/
POLITICO
— Trump backs Catalina Lauf for Congress to replace Byron Donalds. Lauf worked as a Commerce Department adviser in Trump’s first administration.
https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026/08/trump-backs-catalina-lauf-for-congress-to-replace-byron-donalds-01037485
— Trump waged war on EVs. Now he’s helping them out.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/12/trump-waged-war-on-evs-now-hes-helping-them-out-01032336
FORTUNE
— Here’s Why China’s Social Credit System Is So Warped. DD: What costs you points in America’s Social Credit System? For me, it is my being conservative, Republican, White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, and my having ancestors who have been in America for a long time.
https://fortune.com/media/8abcdbb2-0402-4e44-bf8e-c2f606286669/
FACT CHECK
— DD: I often served as a fact checker while I worked for GAO 1986-1997 at the GS-13 Step 1-10 Levels, currently $118,984-$154,682/year.
https://www.factcheck.org/2026/08/trump-uses-deceptive-chart-in-false-inflation-boast/
NEWS ONE
— The Anti-DEI Trump Admin Is Boasting About Speedily Hiring Video Gamers As Air Traffic Controllers. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that his office has taken a huge step towards solving the nation’s air traffic controller shortfall problem by recruiting video gamers to do the job. DD: According to Google AI, “In the United States, video game player ethnicity data shows that approximately 68% of gamers are White/Caucasian, 22% are Hispanic, 15% are Black/African American, 4% are Native American/Alaskan, and 2% are Asian/Pacific Islander.)
https://newsone.com/6868990/video-game-players-air-traffic-controllers/
PROGRESSIVE
— ‘We Are Coming to Get Our Check.’ Black Americans have sought reparations for slavery since the Emancipation Proclamation. DD: Affirmative Action (AA) and DEI are reparations. Blacks have been given many trillions of dollars in AA and DEI since the 1960s.
https://progressive.org/magazine/we-are-coming-to-get-our-check-baker-20260813/
COMMON DREAMS
— Can AOC Win the Working Class? Before running for president, she needs to prove she can build a national working-class coalition. DD: What did you do to qualify yourself for better paying jobs? I worked my way through college. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree. I earned three job-related master’s degrees. I earned six job-related professional certifications. I earned a job-related professional license.
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/aoc-win-working-class
August 13, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
NBC5
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly blame Trump for everything that is bad including bad weather.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/as-dc-aims-to-cut-weather-forecasting-illinois-takes-nations-tornado-warning-lead/3974563/
WGN9
— GOP candidate for Lt. Governor Aaron Del Mar defends abortion comments: ‘I was expressing my personal feelings’
https://wgntv.com/news/politics/wgn-the-point-politics-chicago-illinois/gop-candidate-for-lt-governor-defends-abortion-comments-i-was-expressing-my-personal-feelings/
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— ‘Steel Across America’ tour brings 9/11 memorial to Chicago ahead of 25th anniversary. DD: I organized Wheaton’s 2003 and 2004 9/11 ceremonies.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/12/september-11-memorial-chicago-steel-across-america/
— As police response times grow, people are taking defense into their own hands. DD: What is the police response time where you live?
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/06/03/opinion-chicago-911-response-time-firearms-concealed-carry/
DAILY HERALD
— College of DuPage to commemorate 25th anniversary of 9/11. DD: I organized Wheaton’s 2003 and 2004 9/11 ceremonies.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260812/submitted-content/college-of-dupage-to-commemorate-25th-anniversary-of-9-11/
CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Ford to shift Lincoln production from China, potentially boosting Chicago plant.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/manufacturing-logistics/ccb-ford-china-lincoln-chicago-20260812/
WBEZ
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.wbez.org/education/2026/08/12/colleges-scramble-after-court-strikes-down-in-state-tuition-for-illinois-undocumented-students
SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
— Springfield food pantries struggle as SNAP cuts hit. DD: Democrat leaders want as many people as possible on SNAP because people on SNAP vote for Democrats.
https://www.sj-r.com/story/news/local/2026/08/13/snap-cuts-strain-springfield-food-pantries/91235814007/
FOX ILLINOIS
— David Crowley’s razor-thin Wisconsin primary win sets up match against Trump pick.
https://www.foxillinois.com/news/nation-world/david-crowleys-razor-thin-wisconsin-primary-win-sets-up-match-against-trump-pick/article_63a00f27-53cd-5816-8c09-23a5d94f37be.html
— Republicans see Minnesota fraud scandal as a chance to go on offense in a blue state.
https://www.foxillinois.com/news/nation-world/republicans-see-minnesota-fraud-scandal-as-a-chance-to-go-on-offense-in-a-blue/article_1900df0e-d605-5312-a4fe-de1b007a9afd.html
GLEN ELLYN PATCH
— College of DuPage to Commemorate 25th Anniversary of 9/11. The ceremony will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York. DD: I organized Wheaton’s 2003 and 2004 9/11 ceremonies.
https://patch.com/illinois/glenellyn/amp/34631685/college-of-dupage-to-commemorate-25th-anniversary-of-9-11
POLITICO ILLINOIS
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/08/13/bustos-puts-her-network-to-work-01035668
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/12/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-577/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
JOHN KASS
— Vallas: CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION’S SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS IS A SCAM
https://johnkassnews.com/chicago-teachers-unions-sustainable-community-schools-is-a-scam/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— Democrats cannot escape their overeducated socialist wing. Voters remain wary of a party increasingly shaped by entitled collectivists. DD: I avoided Democrat indoctrination by majoring in business, accounting, and finance.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/12/democrats-cannot-escape-overeducated-socialist-wing/
— Far-left momentum meets resistance as energized Democrats search for winning formula.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/12/far-left-momentum-meets-resistance-energized-democrats-search-winning/
— Lindell refuses to concede in Minnesota’s GOP gubernatorial primary.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/12/mypillow-founder-mike-lindell-refuses-concede-minnesotas-gop/
— H-2A visa program should not become an amnesty, a permanent foreign-labor pipeline. DD: All my employers would have hired noncitizens instead of me if they could have. My critics/opponents cannot say that because they had wealthy parents. Noncitizens work for less money and they are easier to exploit. I did yard work 1962-1964. I delivered newspapers 1962-1966. I washed dishes 1964-1966. I cleaned golf shoes, chipped slag, and pumped gasoline in 1966. I delivering mail 1966-1969. I worked on an automotive assembly line in 1970. I sold tires, automotive services, and major appliances 1970-1971. I pumped more gasoline 1971-1972. I collected delinquent taxes 1971-1980. I audited federal agencies 1980-1997. Many, if not most, if not virtually all of my peers would not have stooped to take the aforesaid bad jobs that I took.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/12/h-2a-visa-program-not-become-amnesty-permanent-foreign-labor-pipeline/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Despite President Trump’s strong focus on immigration enforcement and protecting American workers, a bill to provide amnesty for illegal aliens and to broaden the use of work visas was recently introduced by the House Agriculture Committee chairman. The Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act of 2026 (H.R. 9535), which has more than 50 co-sponsors including 47 Republicans, dramatically expands the scope of the H-2A program. This would allow employers to more easily replace Americans with foreign workers and would suppress wage growth while reducing incentives to recruit domestic labor, improve working conditions, or invest in productivity-enhancing technology. Supporters portray the bill as a response to labor shortages. But when workers are scarce, wages rise. Employers improve conditions. Businesses innovate and automate. The purpose of a market economy though is not to guarantee employers access to labor at a price they prefer; it is to allow supply and demand to determine wages and encourage productivity growth. H.R. 9535 violates this healthy market dynamic. The bill broadens eligible work to include not only traditional agricultural jobs, but also packing, processing, transportation, aquaculture, logging, equine-related activities, and even portions of meat and poultry processing. It also redefines “temporary” work to include contracts lasting up to 349 days, regardless of the employer’s underlying need.)
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— How ‘pro-union conservatism’ is a win for the radical Left. DD: I was a union member for almost 12 years.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/faith-freedom-self-reliance/4681478/pro-union-conservatism-win-for-radical-left-josh-hawley-labor-terms-mobilization/
— Mike Lindell lost because of immigration amnesty proposal despite Trump backing.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/state/4685105/mike-lindell-loss-immigration-amnesty-steve-bannon/
WASHINGTON FREE BEACON
— DEI Fellowship Pledging To Recruit ‘Underserved’ Legal Talent Accepted Most Privileged Students in US.
https://freebeacon.substack.com/p/dei-fellowship-pledging-to-recruit
NEW YORK POST
— How Democrats’ DEI kept homebuyers in the dark about crime and schools. DD: When Democrats move in, poverty and crime increase.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/12/opinion/how-democrats-dei-kept-homebuyers-in-the-dark-about-crime-schools/
— Vanity Fair profile on Usha Vance claims she ‘built JD’ Vance. DD: My outstanding wife helped me a) pass the CPA examination on my first attempt when I was 30, b) afford to take a $23,699 (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO when I was 31, c) earn a master’s degree in accounting when I was 31, d) pass the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt when I was 32, e) become a licensed CPA when I was 32, f) earn four more professional certifications when I was 41, 45, 47, and 48, g) get promoted when I was 38, h) earn a master’s degree in finance when I was 48, and i) afford to take a $86,042/year (56%) loss in income in today’s dollars to retire in 1997. But before we got married, I had a) gotten promoted when I was 23, 24, and 25, b) earned an MBA when I was 27, c) earned $100,066/year in today’s dollars, and d) almost completed the requirements for a master’s degree in accounting.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/12/us-news/vanity-fair-profile-on-usha-vance-claims-she-built-jd-vance/
AMAC
— Air Traffic Control Hiring Surges Under Trump. A campaign targeting video gamers hired over 2,000 controllers and hit 94% of its goal, offering pay above $155,000 after three years of training. DD: 3 years after I started working for IRS in 1971, I was earning $100,000/year in today’s dollars. According to my critics/opponents, I was grossly overpaid. I did not earn $155,000/year in today’s dollars until after I had a) worked for GAO for almost 18 years, b) worked for IRS for almost 9 years, c) earned three job-related master’s degrees (business, accounting, and finance), d) I earned six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting), and e) I earned a job-related professional license (CPA).
https://amac.us/newsline/air-traffic-control-hiring-surges-under-trump
BLAZE
— Here’s the unfiltered truth about the ‘moderate’ who beat the America-hating socialist in Wisconsin.
https://www.theblaze.com/news/heres-the-unfiltered-truth-about-the-moderate-who-beat-the-america-hating-socialist-in-wisconsin
BREITBART
— Pro-migration activists have funded some 20,000 lawsuits to release roughly 17,300 illegal migrants — including many criminals — mostly with the aid of judges nominated by President Joe Biden.
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/08/12/pro-amnesty-groups-fund-wall-of-20000-lawsuits-to-block-migrant-deportations/
— Lindell Loses Minnesota Primary After Embracing Amnesty.
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/08/12/mike-lindell-loses-minnesota-primary-after-embracing-amnesty/
— The Radical Left Has Control of the Democratic Party.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/12/exclusive-rep-jim-jordan-the-radical-left-has-control-of-the-democrat-party/
DAILY WIRE
— Why Socialism Is Winning With America’s Youth. DD: Socialists hint/imply/argue/shout at youth and at everyone else that all you need to do to advance under socialism is to be a socialist. Democrats hint/imply/argue/shout at youth and at everyone else that all you need to do to advance under Democrats is to be a Democrat. I worked for the Democrats who ran the Post Office, IRS, and GAO for almost 30 years. None of my Democrat coworkers came close to doing what I did to advance. I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree (management). I earned three job-related master’s degrees (business, accounting, and finance). I earned six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting). I earned a job-related professional license (CPA). But because my coworkers were Democrats, they were promoted them over me. They all a) had less education than I had, b) had less work experience than I had, c) had no professional certification or fewer than I had, and/or d) had no professional license like the one I had.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/why-socialism-is-winning-with-americas-youth
— Democrats’ ‘Moderate’ Wisconsin Nominee Has His Own Woke Skeletons In The Closet. DD: All my critics/opponents are woke to some degree, that is, they all reject some, many, most, virtually all, if not all conservative principles and planks in the Republican Party platform..
https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrats-moderate-wisconsin-nominee-has-his-own-woke-skeletons-in-the-closet
FOX BUSINESS
— Jonathan Turley warns of ‘DRESS UP’ socialism schtick.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jrqx_4QGXoo
FOX NEWS
— Biden-era directive for diplomats to peddle DEI on foreign governments scrapped by State Department. Trump administration says diplomats should advocate national interests, not ‘woke political dogmas,’ on the world stage.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-era-directive-diplomats-peddle-dei-foreign-governments-scrapped-state-department?lid=1ejfrqce3s10
— Hong’s defeat doesn’t mean we’re ‘out of the woods’ from the socialist threat.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403305979112
— Internal fight exists between ‘regular’ Democrats and ‘crazy’ socialists.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403291974112
— This is not the end of the socialist surge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnW24OghUSQ
NRCC
— Socialists Hijack the Democrat Party, America Is Next.
https://www.nrcc.org/2026/08/12/socialists-hijack-the-democrat-party-america-is-next/
NEWSMAX
— Why Socialist Hong Lost in Wisconsin.
https://www.newsmax.com/john-gizzi/david-crowley-francesca-hong-wisconsin/2026/08/12/id/1265932/
TOWNHALL
— Democrats Blame Capitalism for America’s Problems. But America Isn’t As Capitalist As You Think. DD: Democrat and RINO employers put hiring, retaining, and promoting Democrats and RINOs ahead of making profits.
https://townhall.com/news/dmitri-bolt/2026/08/12/is-it-socialism-or-capitalism-that-has-failed-the-united-states-n2681127
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
NBC NEWS
— One year in, the National Guard continues to patrol Washington, D.C. Taxpayers have spent at least $600 million on the federal deployment in the nation’s capital. President Donald Trump has declared victory, while residents call it an unnecessary “occupation.” DD: The Democrat Party platform promotes poverty and crime.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/one-year-national-guard-continues-patrol-washington-dc-rcna591956
NEW YORK TIMES
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: Homeland Security Intensifies Pursuit of Noncitizens on Voter Rolls. Immigrants who said they inadvertently registered to vote while obtaining or renewing driver’s licenses are increasingly facing deportation under the Trump administration.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/10/us/politics/noncitizens-vote-crackdown.html
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote Islam.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/11/us/politics/muslim-voters-candidates.html
USA TODAY
— America’s 10 best colleges. DD: According to my critics/opponents, degrees from non-Ivy League colleges are worthless, that is, my 1970 degree from NIU, 1976 degree from Loyola, my 1980 degree from DePaul, and my 1997 degree from IIT are worthless.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2026/08/09/best-colleges-ranking-linkedin/91215754007/
— A pay cut for a steady job? Economic anxiety fuels forever jobs. DD: Who do you know who voluntarily took a pay cut to get promoted? I voluntarily took a $23,699/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO when I was 31 in 1980. I did that to get promoted to GS-13. My Democrat IRS superiors had made it very clear that they would never promote me to GS-13 because I refused to become a Democrat. They had gotten rid of the IRS manager who had promoted me when I was 23, 24, and 25. They had disallowed my travel vouchers when I was 25. They had disallowed my education deductions when I was 29. GAO ultimately did promote me to GS-13, but not until I was 38. By then, I had become a licensed CPA when I was 32, passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt when I was 32, earned a master’s degree in accounting when I was 31, passed the CPA examination on my first attempt when I was 30, and earned an MBA when I was 27. The Democrats who ran GAO would never have promoted me to GS-13 if the GAO manager who had arranged my transfer had not gotten back into power. They forced him to retire when I was 38.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personal-finance/2026/08/11/steady-job-pay-cut/91247904007/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Rove: Seven Steps to Defeat Dems and the DSA. Far-left candidates give an opening to the GOP in the midterms. Can they use it wisely?
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/seven-steps-to-defeat-dems-and-the-dsa-d113b12b
— The Badger State Says No to Socialism.
https://www.wsj.com/video/series/potomac-watch-strassel/wsj-opinion-the-badger-state-says-no-to-socialism/7A61C74D-F7F4-43B0-B5D7-B588C82EBEFB
— Welfare Benefits and the ‘Disincentive Desert.’ How Americans become ensnared in the system. DD: Democrat leaders want as many people on welfare as possible because people on welfare vote for Democrats.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/poverty-welfare-benefits-work-incentives-22850530
FORBES
— Our First Socialist President.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jameskglassman/2026/08/12/our-first-socialist-president/
WASHINTON REPORTER
— Catalina Lauf ahead in final days of Florida House primary.
https://washingtonreporter.news/exclusive-catalina-lauf-ahead-in-final-days-of-house-primary-poll-shows/
LOS ANGELES SENTINEL
— DD: To get more votes from Blacks, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly shout at them that Republicans cause all their problems.
https://lasentinel.net/the-american-dream-is-being-repossessed.html
HIGHER EDUCATION
— College costs for families up 10% from last year. DD: My critics/opponents ignore/dismiss/belittle my working my way through college because college costs were less back then.
https://www.highereddive.com/news/college-costs-for-families-up-10-from-last-year-poll-finds/827623/
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
— The Privilege Spectrum. DD: According to my critics/opponents, a) those who are White, male, older, Protestant, German American, and/or have ancestors who have been in America for a long time are advantaged and b) those who are minority, female, younger, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time are disadvantaged. But not only that, that a) those who are advantaged cause all the problems that those who are disadvantaged have.
https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/high-road/buffalo/privilege-spectrum
FEDWEEK
— Shared Hiring Certificates DD: I never applied to work for IRS. IRS offered me a job when I was 22 in 1971 because I had taken and passed the Federal Service Entrance Examination in 1970.
https://www.fedweek.com/careers/shared-hiring-certificates-what-you-need-to-know/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: A “shared certificate” is a list of job candidates who have already applied to a federal job announcement, been assessed against the job’s qualifications, and been found eligible for hire but who were not selected by the original hiring agency. Agencies that ran the original hiring action can share that certificate of eligible candidates (known as a “cert”) with other federal agencies looking to fill a similar position without those agencies having to post their own announcement.)
— Within Grade Increases and Who Gets Them. DD: My critics/opponents have always been furious that I got within grade increases while I worked for the Post Office, IRS, and GAO. In today’s dollars, my Post Office salary increased from $19.57/hour to $20.87/hour 1966-1969. My IRS salary increased from $100,059/year to $113,402/year 1974-1980. My GAO salary increased from $118,984/year to $154,682/year 1986-1997.
https://www.fedweek.com/ask/federal-pay/within-grade-increases/
MY FEDERAL RETIREMET
— 2027 CSRS / Social Security COLA Estimate DD: My critics/opponents were furious that I got COLAs while I worked for the federal government 1966-1969 and 1971-1997 and that I have continued to get COLAs as a federal retiree since 1997.
https://www.myfederalretirement.com/cola-estimate/
https://www.myfederalretirement.com/fers-csrs-cola-watch/
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
— What the data says about food stamps in the U.S.
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/11/14/what-the-data-says-about-food-stamps-in-the-us/
August 12, 2016
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Illinois and Chicago campaigns defy conventional monied wisdom.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/12/column-illinois-chicago-campagins-defy-convention-washington/
— Backlash against Meta’s smart glasses grows. DD: Republican Precinct Committeemen should consider wearing them to document threats against them when they hand-deliver sample ballots, campaign literature, and voter guides in their precinct.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/11/meta-smart-glasses/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The social media giant dominates the market for smart glasses, which allow people to capture photos and videos, listen to music, take phone calls and ask questions to an artificial intelligence assistant. Some people are using the glasses — which look like a pair of regular spectacles — to record people without their knowledge and publish the videos on social media. The users secretly videotape and share what happens when they try to pick up women. Now, a growing number of people are worried they could be covertly recorded at the gym or even during sex. The backlash has prompted Meta to update its glasses to address privacy concerns, and some places have banned them, adding to the angst surrounding technology that’s rapidly evolving. It’s too early to tell whether the criticism will dent sales of smart glasses, said Jitesh Ubrani, a director at the market research company IDC.)
— If you’re not wealthy, you’re making concessions on big-ticket purchases. Consumers are OK with not getting the fancy car. Homes? That’s a bigger problem.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/12/jd-power-zillow-auto-cars-homebuyers-housing-rich/
DAILY HERALD
— The persecution of Anthony Fauci, a public servant. DD: I should write about federal employees who have had big adverse actions taken against them, what those adverse actions were, who took those adverse actions against them, and those who could/should have come to their defense but did not, and why.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260812/syndicated-columnists/the-persecution-of-a-public-servant/
FOX32
— USDA: SNAP enrollment drops by 5.3 million following new work rules – State-by-state breakdown. DD: Democrat leaders want as many people as possible on SNAP because people on SNAP vote for Democrats.
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/snap-fewer-recipients-after-new-rules-implemented
PEORIA JOURNAL STAR
— Tracy labels Iran war costs ‘required sacrifices.’
https://www.pjstar.com/story/news/politics/2026/08/11/don-tracy-calls-iran-war-costs-required-sacrifices/91263175007/
EVANSTON NOW
— Uihlein family giving $35M to NU football.
https://evanstonnow.com/uihlein-family-giving-35m-to-nu-football/
FOX ILLINOIS
— DD: While I worked for the Democrats who ran the federal government for almost 30 years, their top priority was hiring, retaining, and promoting Democrats who were minority, female, younger, and/or veteran.
https://www.foxillinois.com/news/nation-world/researchers-advocates-rail-against-governments-efforts-to-end-workforce-data-collection/article_36c0db76-e1b3-51f4-9ca6-0c160b2045d6.html
NPR ILLINOIS
— Trump-backed Mike Lindell loses primary for Minnesota governor to Lisa Demuth.
https://www.nprillinois.org/2026-08-11/trump-backed-mike-lindell-loses-primary-for-minnesota-governor-to-lisa-demuth
WGLT
— New Illinois law empowering sexual assault survivors runs into shortage of female officers.
https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2026-08-11/new-illinois-law-empowering-sexual-assault-survivors-runs-into-shortage-of-female-officers
WFMD
— Chicago’s South Side is drowning in excuses, dependency and decay.
https://www.wfmd.com/2026/04/28/chicagos-south-side-is-drowning-in-excuses-dependency-and-decay/
RACE AND EQUITY PROJECT
— Nowhere to go: Chicago teens on ‘takeovers,’ curfews, and lost community spaces. DD: What is your municipality doing to stop Democrat teen takeovers? When you were a teen, what did you do when you were not in school? I did yard work 1962-1964. I delivered newspapers 1962-1966. I washed dishes 1964-1966. I cleaned golf shoes, chipped slag, and pumped gasoline in 1966. I delivered mail 1966-1969.
https://www.raceandequityproject.org/article/chicago-teen-takeover-police-hyde-park-community-spaces
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— DNC plans a Chicago bootcamp.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/08/12/dnc-plans-a-chicago-bootcamp-01034396
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/12/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-789/
— Afternoon roundup
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/11/isabel%e2%80%99s-afternoon-roundup-576/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
JOHN KASS
— Democrat Socialist of America: The Threat is Real.
https://johnkassnews.com/democrat-socialist-of-america-the-threat-is-real/
ILLINOIS REVIEW
— 10 Criminal Complaints Filed Against Federal Agents Over Operation Midway Blitz as DHS Calls Effort a ‘Political Stunt’
https://www.illinoisreview.com/illinoisreview/2026/08/10-criminal-complaints-filed-against-federal-agents-over-operation-midway-blitz-as-dhs-calls-effort-a-political-stunt.html
— Why Are the Courts Clogged? Ask the Democrats Who Created the Crisis.
https://www.illinoisreview.com/illinoisreview/2026/08/why-are-the-courts-clogged-ask-the-democrats-who-created-the-crisis.html
ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE
— Pritzker record: He added $300 million last year to Chicago pension woes.
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/pritzker-added-300-million-last-year-to-chicago-pension-woes/
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Double-Dipping, Something Illinois Legislators Won’t Stop. DD: My critics/opponents have always been furious a) that I earned both Civil Service Retirement System and Social Security credits a) while I worked for the Post Office 1966-1969 and b) for IRS and Firestone Stores 1971-1972.
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/11/double-dipping-something-illinois-legislators-wont-stop/
GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— Under socialism, all you need to do to advance is be a socialist. Under Democrats, all you need to do to advance is be a Democrat. If I had listened to socialists, I would have become a Democrat. That would have discouraged me from doing what I did to advance. To advance, a) I worked my way through college, b) I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree (management), c) I earned three job-related master’s degrees (business, accounting, and finance), d) I earned six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting), and e) I earned a job-related professional license (CPA). All of my coworkers who my Democrat Post Office, IRS, and GAO superiors promoted over were Democrats. None of them came close to doing what I did to advance. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
— Who do your critics/opponents blame problems on? My critics/opponent blame problems on conservatives who are White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time, have more money than they do, and/or have more professional credentials than they do. – Dave Diersen
http://www.gopillinois.com
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON TIMES
— Men (not) at work: Social instability looms as men shun the labor force. DD: Since the 1960s, Democrat and RINO employers have ever-increasingly focused on hiring, retaining, and promoting women, and especially women who are minority and/or younger.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/12/men-not-work-social-instability-looms-men-shun-labor-force-analysts/
— Blame colleges for the socialist conquest. They recruit and tolerate Jew-hating professors, students.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/11/blame-colleges-socialist-conquest/
WASHINGTON FREE BEACON
— Abdul El-Sayed Proclaimed ‘Obligation’ To Follow Sharia Law Until the Day He Dies.
https://freebeacon.substack.com/p/abdul-el-sayed-proclaimed-obligation
NEW YORK SUN
— Abdul El-Sayed’s Success Is Owed to Western Values and American Meritocracy That He Seeks To Abolish. He is one of the luckiest people to ever live, and an extremist by choice.
https://www.nysun.com/article/abdul-el-sayeds-success-is-owed-to-western-values-and-american-meritocracy-that-he-seeks-to-abolish
AMERICAN THINKER
— Learn to listen, listen to learn. Leftists today aren’t interested in respectful exchanges of viewpoints, or in offering rationales for their own ideas. Socialism is but a step toward communist oppression. Among the dangers it promotes is the abolition of popular dissent. DD: Under socialism, all you need to do to advance is be a socialist. Under Democrats, all you need to do to advance is be a Democrat. If I had listened to socialists, I would have become a Democrat. That would have discouraged me from doing what I did to advance. To advance, a) I worked my way through college, b) I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree (management), c) I earned three job-related master’s degrees (business, accounting, and finance), d) I earned six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting), and e) I earned a job-related professional license (CPA). All of my coworkers who my Democrat Post Office, IRS, and GAO superiors promoted over me were Democrats. None of them came close to doing what I did to advance.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/08/learn-to-listen-listen-to-learn/
— The Diversity Blindspot. The Arday illusion: academia’s shameful infatuation with the diversity poster boy.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/08/the-diversity-blindspot/
AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY
— The Upward Mobility Act is a Step Forward on Welfare Reform. DD: The Democrat Party platform a) discourages personal responsibility and b) promotes dependency on government.
https://americansforprosperity.org/policy-corner/the-upward-mobility-act-is-a-step-forward-on-welfare-reform/
BIZ PAC REVIEW
— Trump administration has lost nearly 17,000 immigration rulings. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2026/08/11/report-trump-administration-has-lost-nearly-17000-immigration-rulings-1654342/
BLAZE
— DEI’s favorite trick: Failure proves discrimination. DD: Democrats shout at those who fail that Republicans caused their failures.
https://www.theblaze.com/columns/opinion/deis-favorite-trick-failure-proves-discrimination
BREITBART
— Pritzker: Trump ‘Put People in Harm’s Way to Save Himself’
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2026/08/11/pritzker-trump-put-people-in-harms-way-to-save-himself/amp/
CAMPUS REFORM
— University of Illinois Chicago offers clinicians $5K stipend, abortion training fellowship. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more abortion.
https://www.campusreform.org/article/university-illinois-chicago-offers-clinicians-5k-stipend-abortion-training-fellowship/30380
CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES
— The Biggest Myth About H-1B Is That It’s ‘Broken.’ DD: All my employers would have hired noncitizens instead of me if they could have. My critics/opponents cannot say that because they had wealthy parents. Noncitizens work for less money and they are easier to exploit.
https://cis.org/Miano/Biggest-Myth-About-H1B-Its-Broken
DAILY WIRE
— David Crowley Stuns Socialist Frontrunner In Wisconsin Dem Governor Primary. The result marked a dramatic reversal from pre-election polling.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/david-crowley-stuns-socialist-frontrunner-in-wisconsin-dem-governor-primary
AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE
— What’s Wrong with Personal Responsibility? DD: The Democrat Party platform a) discourages personal responsibility and b) promotes dependency on government.
https://www.aei.org/commentary/whats-wrong-with-personal-responsibility/
FEDERATION FOR AMERICAN IMMIGRATION REFORM
— A License to Kill on American Highways. DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://www.fairus.org/opinion/license-kill-american-highways
FEDERATION FOR GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY
— Why States Should Ban Universal Basic Income Schemes. DD: The Democrat Party platform a) discourages personal responsibility and b) promotes dependency on government.
https://thefga.org/research/why-states-should-ban-universal-basic-income-schemes/
FOX BUSINESS
— A working-class party without workers. Why are leading Democrats welcoming socialists into their big tent.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/larry-kudlow-working-class-party-without-workers
— Socialists are going to give the GOP the Senate.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6403227460112
FOX NEWS
— Democrat establishment strikes back as socialist candidate downed in battleground primary. Milwaukee County Executive backed by Gov. Tony Evers will face Republican nominee Tom Tiffany in the general election.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/wisconsin-governor-primary-crowley-hong
— Socialists are preparing to come for EVERYTHING you have. DD: The more that you have, the more that you should fight socialism. Anticipate/expect that the less that people have, the more that they will fight for socialism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcEeda5C8Ug
— Socialism has failed everywhere it has been tried.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403230468112
HERITAGE FOUNDATION
— Why the U.S. Has a Culture of Dependency. DD: The Democrat Party platform a) discourages personal responsibility and b) promotes dependency on government.
https://www.heritage.org/poverty-and-inequality/commentary/why-the-us-has-culture-dependency
LEGAL INSURRECTION
— FAA’s Gamer Recruitment Campaign Scores Over 2,000+ Air Traffic Controller Candidates. Hopefully, the rest of the FAA’s air traffic control enhancement plan will prove as successful.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2026/08/faas-gamer-recruitment-campaign-scores-over-2000-air-traffic-controller-candidates/
MINDING THE CAMPUS
— America’s Universities Are Still Shutting Out Conservative Faculty. Campuses are ideologically imbalanced, hostile to dissent, and unwilling to reform. Secretary McMahon’s call for accountability is much needed.
https://mindingthecampus.org/2026/08/11/americas-universities-are-still-shutting-out-conservative-faculty/
PJ MEDIA
— DSA on Illegals: ‘You Don’t Have to Have Papers to Have Power.’ DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2026/08/11/dsa-on-illegals-you-dont-have-to-have-papers-to-have-power-n4956025
— Can Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ride the socialist wave to lead Democrats in 2028 amid party shifts?
https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/08/11/is-there-one-democrat-who-can-ride-the-socialist-wave-to-2028-n4956039
REASON
— Americans Grow Increasingly Dependent on Government Payments. Many citizens of the land of the free are hooked on government checks. DD: The Democrat Party platform a) discourages personal responsibility and b) promotes dependency on government.
https://reason.com/2024/10/04/americans-grow-increasingly-dependent-on-government-payments/
TOWNHALL
— Democratic Socialists Are Officially Part of the Democratic Party.
https://townhall.com/columnists/jtyoung/2026/08/12/democratic-socialists-are-officially-part-of-the-democratic-party-n2681026
U.S. HOUSE
— More Americans Dependent on Welfare Checks, at the Expense of Work. DD: The Democrat Party platform a) discourages personal responsibility and b) promotes dependency on government.
https://waysandmeans.house.gov/2025/01/08/new-report-shows-more-americans-dependent-on-welfare-checks-at-the-expense-of-work/
— Growth of the Welfare State. DD: The Democrat Party platform a) discourages personal responsibility and b) promotes dependency on government.
https://oversight.house.gov/release/grothman-opens-second-hearing-on-examining-the-growth-of-the-welfare-state/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
ABC NEWS
— Charlotte police chief proposes expanding curfew to combat ‘teen takeovers.’ DD: What is your municipality doing to stop Democrat teen takeovers? When you were a teen, what did you do when you were not in school? I did yard work 1962-1964. I delivered newspapers 1962-1966. I washed dishes 1964-1966. I cleaned golf shoes, chipped slag, and pumped gasoline in 1966. I delivered mail 1966-1969.
https://abcnews.com/US/charlotte-police-chief-proposes-expanding-curfew-combat-teen/story?id=135544849
NEW YORK TIMES
— If you’re single and unemployed, it may make sense to prioritize job hunting. But that doesn’t have to mean putting your life on pause. DD: I met my outstanding wife at a Presbyterian singles event. She is Catholic and I am Missouri Synod Lutheran. What helped you become marriage material? By the time I got married when I was 29 in 1978, I had worked for IRS for almost 7 years and my salary was $110,066/year in today’s dollars. I had earned an MBA from Loyola in 1976 and I was taking graduate evening accounting courses at DePaul. I lived in a one bedroom condo in the Outer Drive East building that I had bought in 1976. I was renting out a town home in University Park that I had bought new in 1972. I owned a 1972 Corvette that I had bought new in 1971. See Money Magazine’s 4-page February 1978 article on my wife and I at https://gopillinois.com/documents/ Things that impressed me about my outstanding wife included that her first job after high school was working for the FBI. She soon became the Corporate Secretary of the U.S. League of Savings Institutions. She did much to help elect Big Jim Thompson governor in 1976. She earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from DePaul in 1986.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/11/business/dating-unemployed.html
— Optimizing your life. Instead of focusing solely on retirement savings balance, workers should figure out how they want to spend their time. DD: I spent a tremendous amount of my time and my money a) working my way through college, b) earning a job-related bachelor’s degree (management), c) earning three job-related master’s degrees (business, accounting, and finance), d) earning six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting), and e) earning a job-related professional license (CPA). My wife and I focused on saving money for child raising expenses, but when our fertility problems ended that, we focused on saving for our retirement.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/18/business/retirement-plan.html
WASHINGTON POST
— How today’s generation is turning homebuying on its head. DD: Extremely few of my peers did what I did. I bought a new townhome when I was 24 in 1972. SEE: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/774-Sunset-Ct-5-University-Park-IL-60484/5451474_zpid/ . In today’s dollars, I paid about $180,000 for it and the down payment would have been about $36,000. In today’s dollars, my IRS Revenue Officer salary had just increased from $56,409/year to $68,999/year. The down payment came from what I had earned working for IRS for 15 months and for a Firestone Store part-time for 18 months and full-time for 7 months before that. According to Zillow, the townhome is currently worth $93,200. That says worlds about real estate values in University Park.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/brand-connect/nar/how-todays-generation-is-turning-home-buying-on-its-head/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Trump vs. Socialism: Which Do Voters Revile More? The midterms were the Democrats’ to lose. With candidates like Abdul El-Sayed, they just might.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/trump-vs-socialism-which-do-voters-revile-more-2d0d0d10
— The GAO Precedent for Fed Independence. DD: GAO is not independent. GAO is non nonpartisan. Virtually all, if not all GAO employees are Democrats. When I was 31 in 1980, I was one of the last Republicans GAO hired. GAO wasted my career and forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997. GAO would not have done that if I had been A democrat, minority, female, or veteran.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-gao-precedent-for-fed-independence-b7b37cc4
— AOC for President? Don’t Rule It Out. As Democrats flirt with socialism, she’s a serious candidate.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/aoc-for-president-dont-rule-it-out-084f5619
FORBES
— Millennials Want Workplace Diversity. Why Don’t They Ask For It? DD: To promote diversity is to dump meritocracy.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/adiaharveywingfield/2026/08/12/millennials-want-workplace-diversity-why-dont-they-ask-for-it/
FLORIDA POLITICS
— Kat Cammack, Greg Steube line up behind Catalina Lauf in contentious CD 19 Primary.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/812950-kat-cammack-greg-steube-line-up-behind-catalina-lauf-in-contentious-cd-19-primary/
FLORIDA CAPITOLIST
— Early turnout builds ahead of Florida primary. Catalina Lauf is the founder of Defense of Freedom PAC and has two previous runs for congress in Illinois. Jim Oberweis previously served in the Illinois Senate from 2013 to 2021 and has several unsuccessful runs under his belt in Illinois.
https://thecapitolist.com/early-turnout-builds-ahead-of-florida-primary/
HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTION
— DD: To promote Affirmative Action and DEI is to dump meritocracy.
https://www.hcamag.com/us/specialization/diversity-inclusion/us-boardrooms-are-rapidly-dropping-diversity-rules-hr-cant-ignore-the-fallout/585762
EDUCATION NEWS
— Merit or seniority? Teachers question TSC promotion scoring. Teachers are calling for greater emphasis on merit, competence and measurable performance in TSC promotions. DD: All my coworkers who my Democrat Post Office, IRS, and GAO superiors promoted over me were Democrats a) who had less education than I had, b) who had less work experience than I had, c) who had no professional certification or fewer than I had, and/or d) who had no professional license like the one I had.
https://educationnews.co.ke/merit-or-seniority-teachers-question-tsc-promotion-scoring/
EDUCATION NEXT
— DD: The Democrat Party platform a) discourages personal responsibility and b) promotes dependency on government.
https://www.educationnext.org/whats-wrong-with-personal-responsibility/
JD SUPRA
— Illinois’ Menopause Equity and Care Act Expands Employment Protections.
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/illinois-menopause-equity-and-care-act-9912689/
August 10, 2026
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— DD: To get more votes, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more dependency on government.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/10/head-start-proposed-rule-change-trump-illinois/
— DD: To get more votes, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly blame Republicans for everything that is bad including bad weather.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/10/editorial-climate-migration-could-be-a-big-boost-for-chicago/
STARVED ROCK MEDIA
— Bailey rides in Mendota parade; addresses audience at Civic Center.
https://www.starvedrock.media/wlpo/bailey-rides-in-mendota-parade-addresses-audience-at-civic-center/article_f2e39a97-e1c2-45d5-b15f-647ccd520c30.html
SHAW LOCAL
— Wheaton: Three-bedroom home goes for $1.43 million.
https://www.shawlocal.com/real-estate/2026/08/09/wheaton-three-bedroom-home-goes-for-143-million/
NORTHERN PUBLIC RADIO
— Mike Lindell touts Trump ties in race for governor of Minnesota, where Trump has lost. DD: What losses have you suffered? I am no longer a) the Republican fundraiser for Wheaton Independence Day parades and fireworks, b) the TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois chairman, c) an Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee member, and d) the Milton Township Republican Organization webmaster.
https://www.northernpublicradio.org/2026-08-10/mike-lindell-touts-trump-ties-in-race-for-governor-of-minnesota-where-trump-has-lost
CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— DD: To get more votes, Democrats ever-increasingly promote more vice.
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/national/problem-in-america-sports-betting-marijuana-use-soars/
NPR ILLINOIS
— DD: To get more votes, Democrats ever-increasingly promote more abortion.
https://www.nprillinois.org/2026-08-09/theres-a-birth-control-backlash-online-can-it-explain-the-rise-in-abortions
25 NEWS NOW
— DD: To get more votes, Democrats ever-increasingly promote more pot.
https://www.25newsnow.com/2026/08/09/hospital-visits-condition-linked-frequent-marijuana-use-rise-cdc-study-says/
POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Illinois Democrats are watching Michigan for clues about where their party is headed — and keeping a close eye on tomorrow’s Wisconsin primary, too.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2026/08/10/the-democratic-crystal-ball-01030324
CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2026/08/10/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-787/
FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— What’s Happening to Illinois Ex-Pat Congressional Candidates Running Again in Southwestern Florida. Both Jim Oberweis and Catalina Lauf in Serious Contention as Fundraising Success Draws Attacks from Leading Candidate.
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2026/08/09/whats-happening-to-illinois-congressional-candidates-running-again-in-southwestern-florida/
ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE
— Pritzker’s third-term bid for Illinois governor would be barred in 37 states.
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/pritzkers-third-term-bid-for-illinois-governor-would-be-barred-in-37-states/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— What does ‘Woke 1’ mean, and where does the phrase come from? What to know.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/4680628/what-does-woke-1-mean-what-to-know/
NEW YORK POST
— Resentful lefties are making a new push for reparations. DD: Affirmative Action and DEI are reparations.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/09/opinion/lefties-pushing-for-reparations-dont-get-american-history/
— A Sacramento dispensary has become the first in the state approved to let customers purchase cannabis products through self-checkout kiosks — a retail twist that would have sounded like a futuristic fever dream just a few years ago. DD: In 2019, I led the successful effort to ban the sale of pot in Wheaton. DD: My critics/opponents want to buy pot in Wheaton, they want to make money selling pot in Wheaton, and/or they want Wheaton to get tax revenue from the sale of pot in Wheaton.
https://nypost.com/2026/08/05/business/california-dispensary-launches-cannabis-self-checkout-kiosks/
AMERICAN THINKER
— Correctly calling them commies.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/08/correctly-calling-them-commies/
BREITBART
— Six Shot, 1 Stabbed, Overnight in Gun-Controlled Chicago.
https://www.breitbart.com/2nd-amendment/2026/08/09/six-shot-1-stabbed-overnight-in-gun-controlled-chicago/
FEDERALIST
— Socialists’ Demands To Abolish Police And Prisons Will Mean More Dead Americans.
https://thefederalist.com/2026/08/10/socialists-demands-to-abolish-police-and-prisons-will-mean-more-dead-americans/
FOUNDATION FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION
— Equality of Opportunity, Not Equality of Outcome, Is What Made America Great.
https://fee.org/articles/equality-of-opportunity-not-outcome-is-what-made-america-awesome/
FOX NEWS
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shrugs off past ‘defund the police’ comments, joking ‘Woke 1 was crazy.’ The democratic socialist distanced herself from DSA national positions while defending her past comments.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-shrugs-off-past-defund-police-comments-joking-woke-1-crazy
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403126649112
— DHS reports over 1.4M illegal alien departures since January 2025.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403126744112
— DD: Republican candidates, elected officials, and party leaders should know the arguments against socialism and should articulate them.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403125245112
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/young-conservatives-reveal-whats-top-mind-gop-democrats-battle-hopeless-gen-z-voters
— We have to be the ‘firewall’ that stops the spread of socialism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_m_spwkYUI
PJ MEDIA
— DD: Republican candidates, elected officials, and party leaders should know the arguments against socialism and should articulate them.
https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/08/09/are-democrats-underestimating-their-socialism-problem-n4955958
POST MILLENNIAL
— More than 1,200 illegal immigrants arrested in Atlanta immigration sweep.
https://thepostmillennial.com/more-than-1200-illegal-immigrants-arrested-in-atlanta-immigration-sweep
REAL CLEAR EDUCATION
— Colleges Train Future Teachers to Push Woke Agenda.
https://www.realcleareducation.com/articles/2026/08/09/colleges_train_future_teachers_to_push_woke_agenda_1199368.html
REASON
— The GOP Is Becoming Anti-Conservative. DD: To get more votes, the Illinois Republican Party, DuPage County Republican Central Committee, and Milton Township Republican Organization are increasingly Democrat Lite if not anti-conservative.
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/03/04/jonah-goldberg-the-gop-is-becoming-anti-conservative/
TOWNHALL
— Prepare for the DSA Revolution.
https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2026/08/10/prepare-for-the-dsa-revolution-n2680947
WASHINGTON REPORTER
— Catalina Lauf on her campaign to keep Florida’s 19th District in GOP hands.
https://washingtonreporter.news/interview-catalia-lauf-on-her-campaign-to-keep-floridas-19th-district-in-gop-hands/
FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES
THE HILL
— The damaging effects of shifting from equal opportunity to ‘equal outcomes.’ DD: My critics/opponents promote equal outcome, that is, they reject equal opportunity.
https://thehill.com/opinion/education/529262-the-damaging-effects-of-shifting-from-equal-opportunity-to-equal-outcomes/
NEW YORK TIMES
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: Insults, Expletives and Fat-Shaming: Vance Trolls Critics on the Right and Left. The vice president has dispensed with the decorum and restraint of his predecessors to directly take on opponents and journalists on social media with sometimes profane and often personal jabs.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/us/politics/jd-vance-insults.html
— If You’re Struggling to Pay Day-to-Day Bills, There’s Help. DD: When my wife and I got married, in anticipation of our having children, we lived on just one of our salaries and we saved as much as we could.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/07/your-money/debt-bills.html
WASHINGTON POST
— DD: To get more votes, Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote socialism.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/08/09/democratic-party-socialist-trend-signals-old-style-politics-return/
WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Viva la DSA Revolution! Abolishing the Senate and getting rid of the presidency are only a few things on the list.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/viva-la-dsa-revolution-c1df0d6e
— DD: Republican candidates, elected officials, and party leaders should know the arguments against socialism and should articulate them.
https://www.wsj.com/video/series/journal-editorial-report/wsj-opinion-the-gop-search-for-a-socialist-attack-line/88F24B47-1F15-47C6-BDDF-18BE9356DAF8
— Francesca Hong, the Socialists’ Next Hope. Forget the tweets. The frontrunner in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin Governor wants a 17% income tax and ‘public groceries.’
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/francesca-hong-the-socialists-next-hope-9dc2f3c2
FORTUNE
— Backstabbing is the new office norm: Gen Z and millennials are blame-shifting, snitching, and setting others up to fail—but so are managers. DD: Far too many of my Democrat superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates in the federal government were backstabbers.
https://fortune.com/article/gen-z-millennials-backstabbing-get-ahead-career-new-office-norm-rto-research/
FORBES
— Ten Signs Your Coworkers Are Jealous Of You. DD: My Democrat superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates in the federal government were filled with envy. They were ever-increasingly furious at my and my wife’s ever-increasing income and net worth. To turn my superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates against me, my Democrat superiors stressed a) the new cars that I bought when I was 17, 19, 20, 23, 25, 29, etc., b) the real estate that I bought when I was 24, 25, 27, 29, and 35, c) the collector cars that I bought when I was 40 and 45, d) the college degrees that I earned when I was 21, 27, 31, and 48, e) the professional certifications that I earned when I was 30, 32, 41, 45, 47, and 48, f) the professional license that I earned when I was 32, g) the vacations that my wife and I took, h) etc.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2018/01/09/ten-signs-your-coworkers-are-jealous-of-you/
FORBES & ENTRENEUR
— So Why Did Someone Else Get Promoted? DD: All my coworkers who my Democrat Post Office, IRS, and GAO superiors promoted over me did little or nothing to get promoted. They got promoted because they were Democrats, minorities, females, and/or veterans. To get promoted, I earned a job-related bachelor’s degree (management), three job-related master’s degrees (business, accounting, and finance), six job-related professional certifications (accounting, internal auditing, fraud examination, government financial management, financial services auditing, and forensic accounting), and a job-related professional license (CPA). All my coworkers who my Democrat superiors promoted over me were Democrats who a) had less education than I had, b) had less work experience than I had, c) had no professional certification or fewer than I had, and/or d) had no professional license like the one I had.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/andymolinsky/2026/04/01/youre-crushing-your-goals-so-why-did-someone-else-get-promoted/
https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/why-am-i-not-getting-promoted-3-frustrating-reasons-high-performers-get-passed-over
FAST COMPANY
— Why being good at your job isn’t enough to get promoted anymore. DD: To get promoted, my Democrat superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates in the federal government destroyed their superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates who were Republican, White, male, older, nonveteran, Protestant, German American, and/or had ancestors who had been in America for a long time.
https://www.fastcompany.com/91541422/why-being-good-at-your-job-isnt-enough-to-get-promoted-anymore
BUSINESS INSIDER
— Get promoted in 2026: 7 steps to take right now. DD: To get promoted, my Democrat superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates in the federal government destroyed their superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates who were Republican, White, male, older, nonveteran, Protestant, German American, and/or had ancestors who had been in America for a long time.
https://www.businessinsider.com/things-do-january-want-promotion-december-2026-1
YAHOO
— Losing a job in your 50s can derail even the best-laid retirement plans. DD: My retirement income and savings are dramatically less because my Democrat superiors wasted my career and forced me to retire when I was 49 in 1997.
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/articles/forced-retirement-51-losing-job-223139843.html
— Taking a gigantic pay cut. DD: Who do you know who has suffered a gigantic loss of income? My wife and I could afford my taking a $86,042/year (56%) loss of income in today’s dollars when I was 49 in 1997 because I succumbed to my Democrat GAO superiors who forced me to their early retirement “offer.” We could afford taking that gigantic loss of income a) because of my wife’s salary and benefits, b) because we had no children, c) because we had no debts, d) because we already had substantial retirement savings, and e) because our 72% health insurance premium subsidy continued.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/taking-gigantic-pay-cut-better-203423435.html
MINNEAPOLIS FED
— The broken rungs on the U.S. job ladder. DD: Who do you know who voluntarily took a pay cut to get promoted? I voluntarily took a $23,699/year (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO when I was 31 in 1980. I did that to get promoted to GS-13. My Democrat IRS superiors had made it clear that they would never promote me to GS-13 because I refused to become a Democrat. They had gotten rid of the IRS manager who had promoted me when I was 23, 24, and 25. They had disallowed my travel vouchers when I was 25. They had disallowed my education deductions when I was 29. GAO ultimately did promote me to GS-13, but not until I was 38. By then, I had become a licensed CPA when I was 32, passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt when I was 32, earned a master’s degree in accounting when I was 31, passed the CPA examination on my first attempt when I was 30, and earned an MBA when I was 27. The Democrats who ran GAO would never have promoted me to GS-13 if the GAO manager who had arranged my transfer had not gotten back into power. They forced him to retire when I was 38.
https://www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2026/what-explains-the-broken-rungs-on-the-us-job-ladder
NEW YORKER
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly a) glorify and praise their illegals and b) fight their deportation.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/tps-haitian-new-york-sanctuary-city-mamdani-trump.html
FROM FOREIGN SOURCES
AUSTRALIAN
— Anti-conservative rhetoric fueled the Charlie Kirk tragedy.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/a-beacon-for-crazy-people-how-anticonservative-rhetoric-fuelled-the-charlie-kirk-tragedy/video/0e749bb7d97521124c913a8e43b5eefb
TELEGRAPH
— The diversity industry jettisoned ‘equality of opportunity’ for ‘equality of outcome.’ DD: My critics/opponents promote equal outcome, that is, they reject equal opportunity.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/13/equity-equality-act-public-services-nhs-police/
— Reform would end student loans for ‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees.
https://www.aol.com/articles/reform-end-student-loans-mickey-063000000.html
GUARDIAN
— Millions in China cram for civil service exam and the hope of a job for life. Amid troubled economic times, many in China are shifting back towards the certainty of a career in the public sector. DD: I would not have spent almost 30 years of my life working in the public sector if my high school friend had not asked me to join him to take the postal employment test in 1966. Because I passed, I was a part-time postal employee while I attended UIC 1966-1968 and NIU in 1969. I graduated from NIU in 1970 and accepted the only job offer that I got, to be the Retail Sales Manager in a Firestone Store, a job that not really require a college degree. Potential employers saw me as being draft bait. They did not believe that my application for a financial hardship draft deferment to help support my mother and brother would be approved. I accepted a job offer from Oldsmobile in 1971, but Oldsmobile withdrew that offer saying it had just agreed to stop hiring Whites to settle an EEOC complaint. My Firestone Store boss rudely fired me because I had accepted that offer. Because I had to have a job, I accepted a job offer that I got from IRS. I had taken and passed the Federal Service Entrance Examination while I was a NIU student as a backup because public sector employees are viewed negatively.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/28/china-civil-service-exam-age-limit-changed