December 10 Morning Edition

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— The kids are like ‘casualties of war’ in the Chicago Teachers Union’s power play to keep schools closed – JOHN KASS
https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/john-kass/ct-coronavirus-schools-kass-20201210-kityu45m2jfh5hyd6vcfreizeu-story.html
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: DISGUSTING, TRAGIC: A hard drug pusher promotes decriminalization of hard drugs.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/steve-chapman/ct-column-oregon-decriminalize-drugs-heroin-chapman-20201209-qzstpqh3mzft5h4sd7c3thp234-story.html

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Joe Biden’s defense secretary pick, retired Gen. Lloyd Austin, creates problem for Tammy Duckworth Sen. Duckworth will vote to confirm retired Gen. Lloyd Austin for Pentagon chief — but will not approve a waiver he needs since he has not been out of uniform for seven years. – Lynn Sweet
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2020/12/9/22166739/joe-biden-defense-secretary-lloyd-austin-pick-creates-problem-tammy-duckworth
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Ever-increasingly, hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-haters promote hatred of you if you do not promote wearing face masks.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2020/12/9/22165377/rep-jim-banks-indiana-face-masks-congress-s-e-cupp

DAILY HERALD
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: DIERSEN HEADLINE: DISGUSTING, OUTRAGEOUS: Anti-Americans want to force everyone in America to speak, read, and write the language of their motherland.
https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20201210/dist-131-programs-goal-make-every-student-bilingual

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: DISGUSTING, TRAGIC: Pot pushers push pot. To push pot on a country, state, county, township, municipality, or individual is to destroy that country, state, county, township, municipality, or individual.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/opinion/theres-responsible-way-end-federal-marijuana-ban

WTTW
— Republicans Pitch Plan to Allow Recall of Any Elected Official in Illinois – Amanda Vinicky
https://news.wttw.com/2020/12/08/total-recall-republicans-pitch-plan-allow-recall-any-elected-official-illinois

ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR
— Winnebago County offers chief financial officer post to Kane County treasurer David Rickert – Chris Green
https://www.rrstar.com/story/news/2020/12/09/kane-county-treasurer-seeks-winnebago-county-cfo-post/6503520002/

KANE COUNTY CHRONICLE
— Rickert poised to resign, but still seeks discovery recount. Oberweis, Rickert, Ives, Ward seek recount of all Kane precincts in search of fraud. – BRENDA SCHORY
https://www.kcchronicle.com/2020/12/10/rickert-poised-to-resign-but-still-seeks-discovery-recount/aepez7j/

CHAMPAIGN/URBANA NEWS GAZETTE
— New Champaign County Board chair focused on social-justice initiatives – DEBRA PRESSEY (DIERSEN: How soon will Champaign County banish individuals, organizations, and companies that are law enforcement, Trump supporters, conservative, patriotic, Republican, American, White, male, older, heterosexual, married, non-poor, gun owners, Protestant, German American, and/or those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time?)
https://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/new-chair-focused-on-social-justice-initiatives/article_ba621f45-d94f-5e4d-b868-7bed5ab08f43.html

TIMES
— Pritzker should listen to his own advice with La Salle Veterans Home COVID outbreak – Darren Bailey
https://www.mywebtimes.com/2020/12/09/guest-column-pritzker-should-listen-to-his-own-advice-with-la-salle-veterans-home-covid-outbreak/ak0yxaz/

CHICAGO CRUSADER
— Overcoming Barriers Through Education – Keep a Careful Eye on the Higher Education Act – Harry C. Alford & Kay DeBow (DIERSEN: What did you do to get into college? I took college preparatory courses at Crete-Monee High School 1962-1966. I got into the upper 20% of my graduating class. I scored 24 on the ACT. With money that I saved washing dishes in the basement of the S.S. Kresges in Chicago Heights 1964-1966, I bought a new 1966 Pontiac Tempest Sprint in 1966 to commute to classes at UIC from my parents’ home in Crete.)
https://chicagocrusader.com/overcoming-barriers-through-education-keep-a-careful-eye-on-the-higher-education-act/

NPR ILLINOIS
— State Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) and State Sen. Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) Float Constitutional Amendment Expanding Recall Elections – HANNAH MEISEL
https://www.nprillinois.org/post/republican-lawmaker-pair-floats-constitutional-amendment-expanding-recall-elections#stream/0
— Biden Faces Pressure To Make Good On His Pledge To Bring Diversity To His Cabinet – SCOTT DETROW (DIERSEN: Democrats and RINOs use Affirmative Action, Diversity, and Inclusion to get rid of Republicans, and especially to get rid of Republicans who are White, male, older, non-veteran, Protestant, German American, Trump supporters, conservative, patriotic, heterosexual, married, non-poor, gun owners, and/or those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time.)
https://www.nprillinois.org/post/biden-faces-pressure-make-good-his-pledge-bring-diversity-his-cabinet#stream/0
— Poll: Just A Quarter Of Republicans Accept Election Outcome – DOMENICO MONTANARO
https://www.nprillinois.org/post/poll-just-quarter-republicans-accept-election-outcome#stream/0

LAGRANGE PATCH
— What Got A La Grange Library Worker Fired The employee was accused of violating anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies. – David Giuliani (DIERSEN: Prior to August of 1997, when I was 48 years old, my Democrat GAO superiors led me to believe that they were going to let me work at least until I would be eligible for regular retirement in 2003 when I would be 55 years old. But starting in August of 1997, they increasingly made it clear that if I did not take their early retirement “offer” which expired on September 30, 1997, they would constructively, if not literally, demote me and make my next 6 years a living hell. Previously, they had not taken any formal disciplinary actions against me. But they had given me unfair performance expectations and appraisals, always ranked me in the bottom half of my coworkers for pay-for-performance purposes, did not promote me beyond GS-13, got rid of my mentor in 1987, kept me off audits of IRS for all but 3 of the almost 18 years that I worked for GAO, and forced me to take a $20,157 (21%) pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO in 1980.)
https://patch.com/illinois/lagrange/what-got-la-grange-library-worker-fired-records
(FROM THE ARTICLE: In the interview, Major questioned the swiftness of the library’s action, with her client fired two days after the statement in question. “She went from no discipline in 13 years to termination,” Major said.)

POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Richard Goldberg is being recruited by some members of the Illinois GOP to become party chairman, according to a source close to the selection process. The position opened up over the weekend when Chairman Tim Schneider announced he was stepping down after six years. Goldberg most recently served as a director with the White House National Security Council and before that was chief of staff for former Gov. Bruce Rauner and deputy chief of staff to former Sen. Mark Kirk. Goldberg, who’s also an intelligence officer in the Naval Reserve with the rank of lieutenant commander, is seen as someone who can work across all areas of the Illinois GOP and stand up to Democrats. Goldberg would bring the star power that comes from working for Trump. He also could help rebuild the Republican presence in Lake County, where Kirk resides. The area has moved left with each election cycle in recent years. RICHARD UIHLEIN is the money behind The Federalist: Newly revealed tax records show the GOP megadonor and shipping supply billionaire has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the pro-Trump publication, reports the Center for Media and Democracy’s Alex Kotch. – SHIA KAPOS AND MARIA CARRASCO
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2020/12/10/black-caucus-backs-madigan-merry-vax-mas-lightfoot-dings-dc-gop-eyes-goldberg-durbins-double-duty-491112

CAPITOL FAX
— House Illinois Legislative Black Caucus takes caucus position supporting Speaker Madigan’s reelection
https://capitolfax.com/2020/12/09/house-illinois-legislative-black-caucus-takes-caucus-position-supporting-speaker-madigans-reelection/

FOX NEWS
— School principal sues over dismissal for sharing conservative memes on Facebook. Veteran educator wants her job back and $500K. – Julia Musto (DIERSEN: I should write a book about those who have taken adverse actions against me since 2000 because I included links in GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails to articles that they do not like. I would focus on Republican candidates on ballots in my precinct, their major donors, their political consultants, their campaign managers, their campaign staff members, their volunteers, their operatives, and their dupes.)
https://www.foxnews.com/us/school-principal-sues-after-being-fired-for-sharing-conservative-memes
(FROM THE ARTICLE: “At no point was Amy advised to get counsel, nor was she informed of her rights; instead she was viciously threatened with career ruination if she tried to contest anything happening,” the attorneys said. “On July 13, 2020, the board approved Amy’s termination, absurdly and Orwellianly recharacterizing it as a ‘resignation’ to hide what they had done. “This conduct was wildly illegal,” they continued further. “Amy has a near absolute right to free speech on her private Facebook account.”)
— Facebook encounters bipartisan backlash as AOC supports Trump administration’s lawsuit. Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions are at the core of complaints. – Sam Dorman (DIERSEN: My critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes not only promote Facebook, they destroy individuals, destroy organizations, destroy companies, destroy governments, and destroy countries that do not promote Facebook.)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/facebook-encounters-bipartisan-backlash-as-aoc-supports-trump-administrations-lawsuit

GOPUSA
— ‘This Is Madness’: Romney Lashes Out At Republicans Threatening To Protest Electoral College Vote
https://www.gopusa.com/?p=99017

NBC NEWS
— Covid-19 vaccine distribution must prioritize prisoners. The virus is killing more of them. Allocating precious medical resources to people who are serving time may be anathema to many, but officials must show some backbone — for moral and health reasons. – Ashish Prashar and DeAnna Hoskins
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/covid-19-vaccine-distribution-must-prioritize-prisoners-virus-killing-more-ncna1250461
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Hate-filled White-hating White-haters say “Trump touts a false narrative — and forces allies to come along for the lie.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/trump-touts-false-narrative-forces-allies-come-along-lie-n1250690

NEW YORK TIMES
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: A hate-filled Trump-hating Trump-hater demonizes, denigrates, and condemns individuals, organizations, companies, governments, and countries that are law enforcement, Trump supporters, conservative, patriotic, Republican, American, White, male, older, heterosexual, married, non-poor, gun owners, Christian, Protestant, Italian American, German American, and those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/09/opinion/trump-social-status-resentment.html
— Trump Faithful Asked to Donate $3 Million to Buy His Boyhood Home. The owner of the house in Queens wants supporters to purchase the home as a parting gift to the president. – Sarah Maslin Nir (DIERSEN: Where is/was your childhood home? I lived with my parents in a two-bedroom apartment above my grandfather’s hardware store at the northeast corner of Main and Exchange in Crete 1948-1954. It was sold and torn down in 1966.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/08/nyregion/trump-house-queens.html
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Hate-filled White-hating White-haters blame Whites for minority Covid-19 infection and mortality rates.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/09/world/nothing-to-do-with-genes-racial-gaps-in-pandemic-stem-from-social-inequities-studies-find.html

WASHINGTON POST
— Facebook Accused by U.S., States of Abusing Monopoly – David McLaughlin and Erik Larson (DIERSEN: I should write a book about Democrat plants, Libertarian plants, Green plants, Independent plants, and RINOs who do everything that they can a) to get everyone to spend all their time on the Democrat/Libertarian/Green/Independent/RINO Facebook, b) to get me to stop sending out GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails, and c) to stop everyone from reading those emails. I would focus on those in Illinois, DuPage County, DuPage County’s 4th District, Milton Township, Wheaton, and Wheaton’s West District who have lots of religious, government, political, and/or financial clout.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-small-business/facebook-accused-by-us-states-of-abusing-monopoly/2020/12/09/5e7b6ade-3a5b-11eb-aad9-8959227280c4_story.html
— DISGUSTING, TRAGIC: Minneapolis City Council votes to cut millions from police budget amid record crime rates – Holly Bailey
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/minneapolis-city-council-votes-to-cut-millions-from-police-budget-amid-record-crime-rates/2020/12/10/af3f14ee-3a8c-11eb-bc68-96af0daae728_story.html
— Most Trump voters live in states won by Biden – Philip Bump (DIERSEN: What should Trump voters do for their self-defense? Only 36% voted for Trump in my precinct. Only 39% voted for Trump in my township. Only 40% voted for Trump in my county.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/12/09/most-trump-voters-live-states-won-by-biden/

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Covid-19 Vaccines Pose Potential Side Effects, Doctors Say – Sarah Toy (DIERSEN: Everyone should expect that Covid-19 vaccine pushers will destroy individuals, destroy organizations, destroy companies, destroy governments, and destroy countries that do not push Covid-19 vaccine)
https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/covid-2020-12-09/card/GzjRs28idC508PKXTOIJ
— Facebook Pledges $150 Million to Build Homes for Silicon Valley’s Poorest. Investment represents latest details from social-media company, which last year committed $1 billion to ease affordable-housing shortage in Bay Area – Nicole Friedman (DIERSEN: What do you say to those who want “affordable” housing to be a) built in your neighborhood, but not in their neighborhood, b) built in your precinct, but not in their precinct, c) built in your municipal district, but not in their municipal district, d) built in your municipality, but not in their municipality, e) built in your township, but not in their township, f) built in your county district, but not in their county district, and g) built in your county, but not in their county? I should write a book about those who want “affordable” housing to be a) built in my neighborhood, but not in their neighborhood, b) built in my precinct, but not in their precinct, c) built in Wheaton’s West District, but not in their Wheaton district, d) built in Wheaton, but not in their municipality, e) built in Milton Township, but not in their township, f) built in DuPage County’s 4th District, but not in their DuPage County District, and g) built in DuPage County, but not in their county. I would focus on the aforesaid who have lots of religious, government, political, and/or financial clout.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-pledges-150-million-to-build-homes-for-silicon-valleys-poorest-11607522403
— Arrests of Immigrant Children at Border Climb, Fueling Concern for Biden Team. Apprehensions of unaccompanied youngsters are up more than sixfold from April, signaling a possible crisis ahead. – Alicia A. Caldwell and Michelle Hackman (DIERSEN: Democrats and RINOs do everything that they can to get citizens of foreign countries to dump their children into the United States. Democrats do that because those children will vote for Democrats. RINOs do that because they want cheap labor.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/arrests-of-immigrant-children-at-border-climb-fueling-concern-for-biden-team-11607518801
— Georgia Senate Runoff Elections Trigger Panicked Door Knocking by Both Parties. Republicans worry Trump supporters might stay home, while Democrats fear some backers will think mission already is complete. – Cameron McWhirter and Joshua Jamerson (DIERSEN: According to Democrat and RINO political consultants, door knockers should be minority, female, young, LGBTQ, attractive/handsome/sexy, recent immigrant, veteran, dog owner, non-married, non-overweight, non-rich, non-conservative, non-Christian, non-Protestant, non-Italian American, non-German American, non-American nameplate vehicle owner, etc.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/georgia-senate-runoff-elections-door-knocking-democrats-republicans-11607529187
— Elon Musk Decries ‘M.B.A.-ization’ of America. Tesla’s chief executive blames business schools for lack of innovation; deans are firing back. – Patrick Thomas (DIERSEN: I should write a book about my Democrat IRS superiors, IRS supervisors, IRS coworkers, and IRS subordinates who demonized, denigrated, and condemned my 1976 MBA from Loyola the most.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-decries-m-b-a-ization-of-america-11607548589
— Nasdaq and ‘Groupthink’ The stock exchange now wants to be your diversity consultant. – Editorial (DIERSEN: Diversity consultants want everyone to get rid of everyone who is a Trump supporter, conservative, patriotic, Republican, American, White, male, older, heterosexual, married, non-poor, gun owner, Christian, Protestant, Italian American, German American, and those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/nasdaq-and-groupthink-11607556598

USA TODAY
— Biden won the most total votes — and the fewest total counties — of any president-elect – Camille Caldera (DIERSEN: Needless-to-say, the future is bleak for Trump voters who live and/or work in states, counties, county districts, townships, municipalities, municipal districts, and/or precincts that Biden won. Ever-increasing, Biden voters have made it clear that they will use government to get rid of Trump voters once and for all. What should Trump voters do for their self-defense? Trump got only 40% of the vote in DuPage County, only 39% of the vote in Milton Township, and only 36% of the vote in my Wheaton precinct.)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/12/09/fact-check-joe-biden-won-most-votes-ever-and-fewest-counties/3865097001/
— Idaho health meeting ends abruptly in ‘interest of public safety’ after anti-mask protesters show up at officials’ homes – AP
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/12/08/idaho-mask-mandate-public-health-meeting-intense-protests/6502884002/
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: After years of denial under President Trump, experts expect Joe Biden to confront domestic extremism – Will Carless (DIERSEN: Who hints/implies/argues/shouts that you an extremist? I should write a book about those who hint/imply/argue/shout that I am an extremist. Better yet, I should sue them. If I sued them, would they argue that I am a “public figure?”)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2020/12/09/biden-trump-challenges-domestic-extremism/3825616001/

ORLANDO SENTINEL
— CPAC, the Super Bowl of conservative conventions, is coming to Orlando amid coronavirus – MARK SKONEKI and GRAY ROHRER
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-cpac-orland-convention-20201209-zzdfrye47jdbpockajesgxtf3a-story.html

WSB-TV
— Georgia group plans to knock on 1 million doors to help elect Ossoff, Warnock (DIERSEN: According to Democrat and RINO political consultants, door knockers should be minority, female, young, LGBTQ, attractive/handsome/sexy, recent immigrant, veteran, dog owner, non-married, non-overweight, non-rich, non-conservative, non-Christian, non-Protestant, non-Italian American, non-German American, non-American nameplate vehicle owner, etc.)
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/group-plans-knock-1-million-doors-help-elect-ossoff-warnock/QU2RZAW5W5EYJOALZ2WVPXZSZU/

FEDWEEK
— GAO Report Examines Reasons Behind Gender Pay Gap, Shows Variation (DIERSEN: If I had not been denied my 7th Amendment rights in Diersen v. GAO, I would have presented a jury with evidence that my Democrat GAO superiors paid their employees who were minority and/or female and who had similar education, similar work experience, and/or similar professional certifications and licenses to what I had far more than they paid their employees who were White and/or male. Starting in 1976, when I was 27 years old and earned an MBA from Loyola, I had more education than most of my IRS coworkers. Starting in 1979, when I passed the CPA examination on my first attempt, I had more professional certifications than virtually all my IRS coworkers. Stating in 1981, when I passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt, I had more professional certifications than virtually all my GAO coworkers. Stating in 1981, when I became a licensed CPA, I had more professional licenses that virtually all my GAO coworkers. Further, I earned a master’s degree in accounting from DePaul in 1980 and a master’s degree in financial markets and trading from IIT in 1997. Further, I became a Certified Fraud Examiner in 1990, Certified Government Financial Manager in 1994, Certified Financial Services Auditor in 1996, and Forensic Accountant in 1997.)
https://www.fedweek.com/issue-briefs/report-examines-reasons-behind-gender-pay-gap-shows-variation/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: What GAO Found The overall pay gap between men and women in the federal workforce has narrowed considerably, from 19 cents on the dollar in 1999 to 7 cents in 2017, but the current pay gap is greater for certain groups of women, according to GAO’s analysis of data from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Two trends help explain why the pay gap has narrowed: (1) men and women have become more similar in measurable factors related to pay, such as occupation; and (2) women have earned slightly higher rates of pay increases than men. In 2017, most of the overall pay gap—or 6 of 7 cents on the dollar—was not explained by differences between men and women in measurable factors (see figure). This unexplained portion of the pay gap may be due to factors not captured in the data GAO analyzed, such as work experience outside the federal government, or factors that cannot be measured, such as discrimination and individual choices. In 2017, the overall and unexplained gaps were greater for certain groups. For example, compared to White men, the unexplained gap was greater for Hispanic/Latina, Black, and American Indian or Alaska Native women than for White and Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander women. Gender Composition of the Federal Workforce and Prior Research on the Gender Pay Gap for Federal Workers Over the last 20 years, the federal workforce has consistently included more men than women. For example, according to OPM’s EHRI data, men made up 55 percent of the federal workforce in 1999 and 57 percent in 2018. In 2018, of about 2.1 million federal workers captured in the EHRI data, approximately 1.2 million were men and nearly 926,000 were women. Although estimates of the exact size of the gender pay gap vary, the estimated pay gap between women and men in the federal workforce is smaller than the pay gap in the entire U.S. workforce, which includes the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. In 2018, the pay gap for federal workers was about 12 cents on the dollar, and the pay gap for the entire workforce was about 18 cents on the dollar, according to self-reported data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Prior research has found that the gender pay gap for federal workers is partly explained by differences between men and women in measurable factors that affect pay, such as occupation, education, and experience. This is referred to as the explained pay gap. For example, in our 2009 report, we found that the pay gap was partly due to differences between men and women in the occupations they held, their levels of education, and how long they had worked for the federal government. We also identified other measurable factors that contributed to the explained gender pay gap, including race and ethnicity, federal agency, and veteran status. However, we found that a portion of the pay gap was not explained by differences between men and women in measurable factors that affect pay. This is referred to as the unexplained pay gap. Specifically, we found that 7 cents of the 11-cent pay gap in 2007 were unexplained after accounting for differences in measurable factors. Similarly, OPM found that about 4 cents of the 13-cent pay gap for white-collar federal workers in 2012 were not explained by measurable factors. The unexplained pay gap may be due to factors that are not captured in available data, such as work experience outside the federal government, or those that cannot be measured, such as discrimination and individual career choices. Furthermore, the explained pay gap could also be influenced by discrimination, to the extent that the measurable factors themselves are affected by discrimination.)

FEDERAL NEWS NETWORK
— EEOC visualizing enforcement data to make it easier to understand – Tom Temin (DIERSEN: In 1971, Oldsmobile withdrew a job offer that I had accepted saying that Oldsmobile had just agreed to stop hiring Whites to settle an EEOC complaint. That directly resulted in a) Firestone Stores firing me and b) my accepting a job offer from IRS.)
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/agency-oversight/2020/12/eeoc-visualizing-enforcement-data-to-make-it-easier-to-understand/

AXIOS
— State antitrust lawsuit will target Facebook’s freeze-out of competitors – Margaret Harding McGil (DIERSEN: Who are your competitors and what have they done to harm you? I should write a book about my competitors and what they have done a) to stop me from sending out GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails and b) to stop everyone from reading those emails. I would focus on those who have lots of religious, government, political, and/or financial clout in Wheaton’s West District, Wheaton, Milton Township, DuPage County’s 4th District, DuPage County, and Illinois.)
https://www.axios.com/states-antitrust-suit-target-facebooks-freeze-out-competing-apps-c59a5914-e75c-434b-8b95-1816886c6121.html

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.