April 18 Morning Edition

GOPUSA ILLINOIS
— If you live outside of Cook County, if you have an elected Republican Precinct Committeeman, questions to ask him/her today – Dave Diersen
https://gopillinois.com
– Are you going to attend your Republican county party convention this evening, and if not, why not?
– What is your weighted vote, that is, how many Republican ballots were cast in your precinct for the March 20, 2018 primary?
– Who are the candidates for Republican county party offices, how well do you know them, what have they promised to do if elected, who has endorsed them, which ones are you going to vote for, and why?
– Who are the candidates for the Illinois Republican Party State Central Committee position for your congressional district, how well do you know them, what have they promised to do if elected, who has endorsed them, which ones are you going to vote for, and why?
– Who are the newly elected officers of your Republican township party organization, how well do you know them, what did they promise to do if elected, who endorsed them?

 

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Toni Preckwinkle expected to ascend to Cook County Democratic chairman today – Hal Dardick (DIERSEN: Why isn’t the Chicago Tribune reporting like this on races for a) Illinois Republican Party (IRP) county and township party offices and b) IRP State Central Committeemen offices?)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-met-preckwinkle-democratic-chairman-20180417-story.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Every two years, potential candidates line up to make their pitches to party leaders. The ones who win endorsement are asked to contribute $40,000 to the party, which uses the money on election mailings, robocalls and get-out-the-vote efforts. And when the primaries are done, the party works to elect the nominees in the general election. The names of endorsed candidates are placed on palm cards — lists of party-endorsed candidates handed out by precinct committeemen. But what was once a monolithic effort is no longer. Many ward and township committeemen now go their own way, omitting the names of endorsed candidates and sometimes replacing them with their preferred candidates — as happened with Kaegi in many townships and wards.)
— Emanuel to appear at event sponsored by conservative Koch brothers – Rick Pearson and Bill Ruthhart
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-rahm-emanuel-koch-brothers-20180418-story.html
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Democrats promote Casten
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/naperville-sun/news/ct-nvs-roskam-casten-campaign-money-st-0418-story.html
— Trump campaign rebukes Indiana candidate signs – AP
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-bc-us–indiana-senate-rokita-20180418-story.html

 

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Machine shifting gears? Toni Preckwinkle poised to make history – Alexandra Arriaga (DIERSEN: Why isn’t the Chicago Sun-Times reporting like this on races for a) Illinois Republican Party (IRP) county and township party offices and b) IRP State Central Committeemen offices?)
https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/machine-shifting-gears-toni-preckwinkle-poised-to-make-history/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: “Given this moment of heightened racial awareness … having a black woman as head of the political party in Cook County says that at least there is an overt acknowledgement that African Americans and women are good leaders,” said Jacky Grimshaw, a former aide to Mayor Harold Washington, the city’s first black mayor. “That’s not to say that the party has overcome its racial bias.” The party that Preckwinkle would lead looks different than the one Berrios took over in 2007. Berrios spokeswoman Monica Trevino said in a statement that under Berrios’ leadership, the number of minority Democratic candidates increased by 76 percent, and twice as many women have been slated for countywide office. “The leadership of the Cook County Democratic Party is mostly men, mostly white and mostly old school,” Carol Marin wrote in a 2007 Sun-Times column prior to Berrios’ election as chairman. Berrios took over shortly before Barack Obama won his election as the first African American U.S. president. “There’s even more reason to breathe some life, some youth and some real diversity into the leadership of this sickly organization,” Marin wrote back then.)
— The question now is what can Blago offer Trump? – Editorial (DIERSEN: What should I offer to do to curry favor with my critics/opponents? Should I offer to a) include in GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails only what they want me to, b) stop sending out GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails, c) resign as a Republican Precinct Committeeman, d) glorify and praise them, e) pander to them, f) serve as one of their operatives or dupes, g) give them lots of money, and/or h) accept blame for causing all of their problems, for causing all of your problems, for causing all of my problems, and for causing all of everyone’s problems? Just kidding.)
https://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/editorial-the-question-now-is-what-can-blago-offer-trump/

 

WGN TV
— IRS extends tax-filing due to glitch with agency’s website – AP
http://wgntv.com/2018/04/17/irs-extends-tax-filing-due-to-glitch-with-agencys-website/

 

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Immediate help needed: IRS badly needs a new computer system – Stephen Mihm
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-irs-computer-system-outage-0418-story.html
— Doctor working for Cook County tallied $248K in unauthorized expenses — including piano, flights, iTunes charges – Gregory Pratt
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-cook-county-doctor-expense-reports-20180413-story.html

 

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— The top large companies to work for – MONICA GINSBURG (DIERSEN: The Democrats who run the federal government could hint/imply/argue/shout that the federal government is the best place to work for if you are a Democrat, and especially if you are minority, female, younger, and/or veteran. The federal government uses Affirmative Action, Diversity, and Inclusion to waste the careers of and to get rid of its employees who are Republican, White, male, and/or non-veteran that it does not promote to GS-13 (currently $96,403) by age 25, GS-14 (currently $113,920) by age 30, GS-15 (currently $134,000) by age 35, and Senior Executive Service (currently $164,200) by age 40.)
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180412/ISSUE01/180419965#utm_medium=email&utm_source=ccb-morning10&utm_campaign=ccb-morning10-20180418

 

SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
— UNACCEPTABLE: Bill giving cities control over assault weapons rules passes Senate committee – Brenden Moore
http://www.sj-r.com/news/20180417/bill-giving-cities-control-over-assault-weapons-rules-passes-senate-committee
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Critics charged, however, the legislation would threaten people’s constitutional rights and the lack of uniformity in the “patchwork” of ordinances could lead to confusion that would open up gun owners to criminal liability. “When you talk about patchwork and you bring in cell phones and cigarettes, they don’t compare,” said Ed Sullivan of the Illinois Rifle Association. “You don’t have a right to a cigarette or a right to a cell phone, but you do have a constitutional right to a semiautomatic weapon.”)
— Time to throw away golden parachutes for public employees – Editorial (DIERSEN: Do/will my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes paint my early retirement as being a “golden parachute?” Since September of 1997, my Democrat GAO superiors have had the Civil Service Retirement System pay me $4,322/month in today’s dollars TO NOT COME TO WORK. So far, in today’s dollars, that has been $1,067,534. However, being forced to retire is an “adverse action.”)
http://www.sj-r.com/opinion/20180417/our-view-time-to-throw-away-golden-parachutes-for-public-employees

 

CHAMPAIGN/URBANA NEWS GAZETTE
— Both of C-U’s statewide-office candidates (Harold & Raoul) in good financial shape – Tom Kacich (DIERSEN: One could hint/imply/argue/shout that if you have sought or accepted money from Rauner, that is, from the Illinois Republican Party (IRP), after Rauner dumped the traditional family, right to life, and immigration planks in the IRP platform, you too have dumped the traditional family, right to life, and immigration planks in the IRP platform.)
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2018-04-18/tom-kacich-both-c-us-statewide-office-candidates-good-financial-shape.html
— Police, fire pensions putting heavy pressure on towns – Jim Dey
http://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/columns/2018-04-18/jim-dey-police-fire-pensions-putting-heavy-pressure-towns.html

 

ALTON DAILY NEWS
— Lawmakers in Springfield are moving resolutions to oppose President Donald Trump’s policies in Washington D.C. – Greg Bishop (DIERSEN: To get elected, Trump promised to defend and advance the Republican Party platform. Trump’s policies should be opposed when they do not defend and advance the Republican Party platform.)
http://altondailynews.com/news/details.cfm?clientid=17&id=263655#.WtcaiYyKSM8

 

EVANSTON ROUNDTABLE
— Nichols’ Use of Racial Affinity Groups Questioned, and Defended – Larry Gavin
http://evanstonroundtable.com/Main.asp?SectionID=16&SubSectionID=27&ArticleID=14941
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Commissioner Kirsanow’s Letter Mr. Kirsanow, an African American who is generally regarded as holding conservative views, made clear in his letter that he was sending the letter as one member of the Commission, not on behalf of the Commission. Mr. Kirsanow said he assumes the segregated meetings were instituted in response to a recommendation in District 65’s May 2017 Equity Report that the District create “social identity affinity groups.” He said, “I am astonished that District 65 spent taxpayer money on a report that includes the recommendation, ‘separate teachers by race.’ Separating teachers by race fosters racial division and is prima facie unlawful. By its nature, it forces teachers to view themselves in terms of what divides them, rather than what they have in common. It also encourages a binary view of society that, depending on your perspective, is either, ‘whites against everyone else’ or ‘everyone else against whites.’ It may even foster a sense among both groups that they are threatened by the other. “However well-intentioned, this is segregation for the 21st century,” Mr. Kirsanow said. “Unless a legitimate, nondiscriminatory educational reason can be articulated, the segregation almost certainly would be found unlawful. Discussions of politically correct notions of ‘privilege,’ unsupported by methodological rigor, do not qualify as legitimate reasons, and they are by their own definition discriminatory.” The letter also suggested that the District’s hiring practices may run afoul of prohibitions against racial discrimination in hiring. He also raised a question about the Equity Report’s analysis of the achievement gap. While stating that the achievement gap is concerning, he says, “It’s interesting that the equity report assiduously avoids any examination of the home lives of the children as a possible partial explanation for the achievement gap. “The racially-conscious efforts you and District 65 have undertaken will foster racial division instead of racial understanding. Sending teachers to racially separate meetings is a stark picture of the future you are sowing. You are encouraging students and teachers to view each other as members of groups, not as individuals.”)

 

MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Bill Allowing Voters to Abolish Township Government Passes House
http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2018/04/18/bill-allowing-voters-abolish-township-government-passes-house/

 

NORTH COOK NEWS
— Q&A with GOP State Central Committee candidate Charlene Foss-Eggemann – Glenn Minnis
https://northcooknews.com/stories/511393071-q-a-with-gop-state-central-committee-candidate-charlene-foss-eggemann

 

DUPAGE POLICY JOURNAL
— Ives disappointed with House members who shot down victims right to notification about ethics complaints – Glenn Minnis (DIERSEN: Constructively, federal employees who file complains about patronage, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation have “no rights at all.” The federal government is run by Democrats who promote patronage, political affiliation discrimination, reverse discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation. Republican Presidents, Republican U.S. Senators, and Republican U.S. Representatives have done little or nothing about the aforesaid. They certainly threw me under the bus, they certainly flushed me down their toilet.)
https://dupagepolicyjournal.com/stories/511392329-ives-disappointed-with-house-members-who-shot-down-victims-right-to-notification-about-ethics-complaints
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) has rarely ever been more disappointed in the actions of lawmakers in Springfield than she is over the way they ultimately responded to House Bill 4840. “I thought this would be an easy bill to get out of committee,” Ives told the Prairie State Wire of the bill she argues would have given Illinois residents who file an ethics complaint with the sate inspector general more of a voice in the process. “It made complete sense to me because as it is they have no rights at all.”)

 

FREEDOM’S JOURNAL
— A MAYOR’S MOST IMPORTANT JOB – Walter E. Williams
https://freedomsjournalinstitute.org/latest-news/opinion/a-mayors-most-important-job/
— TRUMP’S VITALLY IMPORTANT ANTI-POVERTY INITIATIVE – Star Parker
https://freedomsjournalinstitute.org/latest-news/opinion/trumps-vitally-important-anti-poverty-initiative/

 

BREITBART
— Business, GOP, Squash E-Verify Ballot in Florida – NEIL MUNRO (DIERSEN: If you oppose E-Verify, you are anti-American, anti-Republican, anti-employee, anti-Trump supporter, anti-Protestant, anti-conservative, anti-patriotic, anti-White, anti-male, anti-older people, anti-rich people, anti-gun owners, anti-German Americans, and/or anti-those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time.)
http://www.breitbart.com/2018-elections/2018/04/17/business-squashes-e-verify-ballot-florida/

 

DAILY CALLER
— OUTRAGEOUS: Gorsuch Joins Liberals To Make Deportations Harder – Kevin Daley
http://dailycaller.com/2018/04/17/gorsuch-joins-with-liberals-deportations/
— AP’s Latest History Textbook Says Christians And Conservatives Are Racists – JOSHUA GILL (DIERSEN: Ever-increasingly, anti-Trumps promote hatred against those who are Trump supporters, Protestant, conservative, patriotic, Republican, American, White, male, older people, rich people, gun owners, German Americans, draft avoiders, and/or those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time.)
http://dailycaller.com/2018/04/17/ap-us-history-textbook-christians-conservatives-racists/
— Starbucks’ Latest Controversy Demonstrates The Elite’s Racial Hypocrisy – Scott Greer
http://dailycaller.com/2018/04/18/starbucks-elite-racial-discrimination/
— 6 Rules To Remember When Building A Website For Your Business – ROB TEITELMAN (DIERSEN: Beyond tragically, ever-increasingly, conservatives and Republicans a) dump their websites, b) stop sending out emails, and c) jump in bed with the Democrat Facebook. Facebook is anti-conservative and anti-Republican.)
http://dailycaller.com/2018/04/17/6-rules-to-remember-when-building-a-website-for-your-business/

 

ROLL CALL
— NRCC Chairman Urges Members to Keep Talking Taxes Republicans view the tax overhaul as a salient campaign issue – Bridget Bowman (DIERSEN: The problem with that is that many millions of voters a) have never paid any federal income tax, b) have paid very little federal income tax, and/or c) will pay very little or no federal income tax for the rest of their lives. Overwhelmingly, the aforesaid voters want members of the following groups to pay lots more federal income tax: Trump supporters, Protestant, conservatives, patriotic people, Republicans, Americans, Whites, males, older people, rich people, gun owners, German Americans, draft avoiders, those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time, married couples, homeowners, those who have no dependents, etc.)
https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/nrcc-chairman-urges-members-to-keep-talking-taxes

 

NEW YORK TIMES
— I.R.S. Website Crashes on Tax Day as Millions Tried to File Returns – Alan Rappeport
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/us/politics/want-to-pay-your-taxes-come-back-later-says-irs.html

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Facebook Provides a Preview of Its Privacy Makeover – Deepa Seetharaman (DIERSEN: If you want privacy, government and politics are not for you. I you have any skeletons in your closet, government and politics are not for you. Government is nasty. Politics is nasty. Your critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes will use everything that they can find out about you against you.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-provides-a-preview-of-its-privacy-makeover-1524027600
— Prizes for Everyone: How Colleges Use Scholarships to Lure Students Merit awards are important component of many schools’ enrollment strategies – Melissa Korn (DIERSEN: When you were in high school, how much “merit” did you display? Were you considered to be college material? While I attended Crete-Monee High School 1962-1966, I took college preparatory courses notwithstanding the fact that many, if not most, if not virtually everyone at the time viewed me as NOT being “college material.” Neither of my parents had attended college. My father was the first of his ancestors to earn a high school diploma. My mother never attended high school. I spent my junior and senior years and the summer in between washing dishes for the minimum wage in the basement of the S.S. Kresges in Chicago Heights. I just barely made into the top 20% of my class, my ACT score was only 24, I was draft bait, my eyesight could not be corrected to 20/20, I had partial red/green color blindness, and I had Osgood-Schlatter disease (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osgood%E2%80%93Schlatter_disease). Further, my father had fought type 1 diabetes from age 14. I am sure that many thought that I would soon come down with type 1 diabetes too.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/prizes-for-everyone-how-colleges-use-scholarships-to-lure-students-1523957400
(FROM THE ARTICLE: At George Washington University, nearly half of all undergraduates receive the school’s Presidential Academic Scholarship. The prizes go to “the most competitive applicants in the pool,” admissions materials say, and include awards of $5,000 to $30,000 for each student. At some other colleges, a solid majority of students get similarly hefty scholarships. At still others, virtually everyone gets them. Hundreds of colleges and universities are using academic scholarships and other merit-based financial aid to gain an edge in a battle for students. The scholarships make students feel wanted and let families think they’re getting a good deal, like a shopper who buys an expensive sweater on sale.)

 

MONEY MAGAZINE
— A Growing Cult of Millennials Is Obsessed With Early Retirement. – ELIZABETH O’BRIEN (DIERSEN: The earlier that you retire, the less money that you will have to spend during your retirement, that is, the lower that your standard of living will be while you are retired.)
http://time.com/money/5241566/vicki-robin-financial-independence-retire-early/

 

FEDERAL TIMES
— Former Minnesota FBI agent pleads guilty to leaking to media – AP (DIERSEN: Should I sue my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes who falsely claim to be religious, conservative, and/or Republican and have hinted/implied/argued/shouted that I leak to the Democrat news media? They routinely leak to Rich Miller and to the rest of the Democrat news media and they do not want me to a) know about their events and other activities, promote their events and other activities, c) attend their events, or d) report on their events and other activities.)
https://www.federaltimes.com/federal-oversight/doj-fbi/2018/04/17/former-minnesota-fbi-agent-pleads-guilty-to-leaking-to-media/

Author: David Diersen

The opinions that I express in GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails are based on experience that I have gained doing many things since 1948. I base my opinions on what I learned a) working for the federal government for almost 30 years -- Post Office 1966-1969, IRS 1971-1980, and GAO 1980-1997, serving on the Executive Committee of the Association of Government Accountants Chicago Chapter 1983-1996, and being a union member while I worked for the Post Office and IRS; b) earning an MBA from Loyola in 1976, a masters degree in accounting from DePaul in 1980, and a masters degree in financial markets and trading from IIT in 1997; c) passing the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979 and passing the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt in 1981; c) serving as a Republican Precinct Committeeman since 1999, the GOPUSA Illinois Editor since 2000, the TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois Chairman 2005-2012, a member of the 2008 Illinois Republican Party (IRP) Platform and Resolutions Committee, a Wheaton Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee member 2003-2011, the Milton Township Republican Central Committee webmaster 2008-2010 and 2000-2004, an Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee member 2003-2007, and an American Association of Political Consultants Midwest Chapter board member 2001-2004; d) attending the 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 IRP State Conventions as a delegate; e) being the subject of a nasty 4-page article in the February 1978 issue of Money Magazine; f) pursing litigation including Diersen v. GAO and Diersen v. Chicago Car Exchange; g) being married since 1978; h) living in Crete 1948-1972, in University Park 1972-1976, in Chicago 1976-1978, and in DuPage County, Milton Township, and Wheaton since 1978; and i) being baptized, raised, and confirmed as a Missouri Synod Lutheran.