December 14, 2025

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

ABC7
— House GOP unveils health care measure that does not extend ACA subsidies
https://abc7chicago.com/post/house-gop-health-care-plan-led-speaker-mike-johnson-unveiled-does-not-extend-aca-subsidies/18284008/

WGN9
— Health insurance premiums rose nearly 3x the rate of worker earnings over the past 25 years
https://wgntv.com/news/health-insurance-premiums-rose-nearly-3x-the-rate-of-worker-earnings-over-the-past-25-years/

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: 2 Illinois election board Democrats who blocked Senate President Don Harmon fines have ties to his donors
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/14/illinois-elections-board-conflicts-harmon/

DAILY HERALD
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly blame Trump for healthcare costs. Is/was your healthcare insurance premiums subsidized? Ever since I became a part-time postal employee when was 18 years old in 1966, my critics/opponents have been furious that the federal government has paid 72% of my healthcare insurance premiums. They have been even more furious ever since I got married I was 29 years old and the federal government started paying 72% of my wife’s healthcare insurance premiums. That 72% subsidy is a major reason why people despise/hate federal employees, federal retirees, and their spouses. That 72% subsidy helped me withstand tremendous efforts by my Democrat superiors in the federal government to waste my career and to get rid of me.
https://www.dailyherald.com/20251213/nation-and-world-politics/somethings-got-to-give-sticker-shock-hits-suburban-affordable-care-act-enrollees/

WHMI
— Leaked lessons from first-year University of Illinois education course show extreme left bias: ‘just so wrong’
https://www.whmi.com/news/fox/leaked-lessons-from-first-year-university-illinois-education-course-show-extreme-left-bias-just-so-wrong

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— Kathy Salvi Attends Party Building Meeting with the President
https://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2025/12/13/kathy-salvi-attends-party-building-meeting-with-the-president/

JOHN KASS
— Little Mogadishu the Chicago Way
https://johnkassnews.com/the-little-mogadishu-way-the-chicago-way/

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

WASHINGTON TIMES
— Bold and Blunt: Feminist wokeness is destroying masculinity
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/dec/13/watch-bold-blunt-feminist-wokeness-destroying-masculinity/
— San Diego schools accused of woke ‘lunacy’ with lessons on 9 genders, 28 sexual orientations
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/dec/12/san-diego-schools-accused-woke-lunacy-lessons-9-genders-28-sexual/
— Appeals court allows Planned Parenthood defunding in ‘huge’ win for Trump administration
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/dec/13/appeals-court-allows-planned-parenthood-defunding-huge-win-trump/

WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— IL Dem touts ‘great job’ on transit, GOP candidate Ajay Gupta laments ‘bailout’ for Chicago
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/infrastructure/3917122/illinois-transit-gop-candidate-laments-bailout-chicago/
— New York to spend $2 million providing mental health services to Afghan refugees
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/investigations/3916163/new-york-2-million-dollars-mental-health-services-afghan-refugees/

NEW YORK POST
— Erika Kirk speaks out against antisemitism, political violence, during CBS town hall with Bari Weiss
https://nypost.com/2025/12/13/media/erika-kirk-speaks-out-against-antisemitism-political-violence-during-cbs-town-hall-with-bari-weiss/

AMERICAN GREATNESS
— Big Brother Is Holding Conservative Media Back
https://amgreatness.com/2025/12/12/big-brother-is-holding-conservative-media-back/

AMERICAN THINKER
— Duffy removes dangerous illegal alien CDLs; Democrats resist
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/12/duffy_removes_dangerous_illegal_alien_cdls_democrats_resist.html
— The imperial media and its enablers
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/12/the_imperial_media_and_its_enablers.html

BREITBART
— Trump Receives Hero’s Welcome at Army-Navy Game, Participates in Coin Toss
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/12/13/watch-trump-receives-heros-welcome-at-army-navy-game-participates-in-coin-toss/
— Cannabis Stocks Surge as Trump Weighs Marijuana Rescheduling. DD: Pot is poison.
https://www.breitbart.com/health/2025/12/12/cannabis-stocks-surge-as-trump-weighs-marijuana-rescheduling/amp/
— Casten: Fraud Protections for ACA Might Hurt People Who Can’t Get Paperwork
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2025/12/13/dem-rep-casten-fraud-protections-for-aca-might-hurt-people-who-cant-get-paperwork/
— Ramirez Initiates Impeachment Push Against Noem
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/12/13/dem-rep-delia-ramirez-initiates-impeachment-push-against-dhs-secretary-kristi-noem/
— Newsom’s California Exposed: #1 Hub for Illegal CDL Licensing — Safety Crisis Ignites Federal Fury
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/12/13/newsoms-california-exposed-1-hub-for-illegal-cdl-licensing-safety-crisis-ignites-federal-fury/amp/

COLLEGE FIX
— TPUSA denied, while Democrats Club approved, at Catholic Seton Hall University
https://www.thecollegefix.com/tpusa-denied-while-democrats-club-approved-at-catholic-seton-hall-university/

DAILY CALLER
— Gene Dodaro Stepping Down For New GAO Leader As Trump Admin Faces Probes For Withholding Funding. DD: Dodaro and Brown know full-well that GAO a) wasted my career, b) forced me to retire when I was 49 years old in 1997, and c) replaced me with my Black subordinate who had less work experience than I had, who had less education than I had, who had one professional certification while I had six, and who had no professional license like the one I had.
https://dailycaller.com/2025/12/11/gene-dodaro-orice-williams-brown-government-accountability-office-replaced-trump-federal-fudning-probes/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The new comptroller’s leadership may be temporary, as a bipartisan group of senators are set to compile a list of potential candidates for a permanent comptroller for Trump to nominate. The acting official Orice Williams Brown is permitted to be on that list, Politico noted, as that is how Dorado wound up working as the top bureaucrat for GAO. Brown has worked there for 30 years, according to Politico. Before her current role at the GAO, she handled congressional relations for the agency. Brown will be the first Black woman to lead GAO.)

FEDERALIST
— If Time Magazine Weren’t So Corrupt, It Would Have Made Charlie Kirk Person Of The Year
https://thefederalist.com/2025/12/12/if-time-magazine-werent-so-corrupt-it-would-have-made-charlie-kirk-person-of-the-year/
— It’s Morally Righteous, Not Bigotry To Notice All Cultures Are Not Equally Good
https://thefederalist.com/2025/12/11/its-morally-righteous-not-bigotry-to-notice-all-cultures-are-not-equally-good/
— ‘Birthright Citizenship’ Is A Feudal Relic That Has No Place In America
https://thefederalist.com/2025/12/11/birthright-citizenship-is-a-feudal-relic-that-has-no-place-in-america/

FOX NEWS
— Prosecuting Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer in the social media age. Case shows how online speculation replaces traditional courthouse reporting.
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/andrew-mccarthy-prosecuting-charlie-kirks-alleged-killer-social-media-age
— BROADCAST BIAS: Networks would rather slam Trump than report on massive Somali fraud. ABC, NBC and CBS dedicate majority of Somali coverage to typical attacks on Trump.
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/broadcast-bias-networks-would-rather-slam-trump-than-report-massive-somali-fraud
— Minnesota’s Somali fraud scandal exposes the hidden cost of immigration. State officials cut Housing Stabilization Services after costs exploded from $3 million to $100 million.
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/minnesotas-somali-fraud-scandal-exposes-hidden-cost-immigration

NATIONAL REVIEW
— Somali Welfare Use Would Be High Even Without Fraud
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/somali-welfare-use-would-be-high-even-without-fraud/

PJ MEDIA
— Half the Licenses for Truckers in New York Were Issued to Illegal Aliens
https://pjmedia.com/rick-moran/2025/12/13/half-the-licenses-for-truckers-in-new-york-were-issued-to-illegal-aliens-n4947019

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

CBS NEWS
— 7 highlights from Erika Kirk’s CBS News town hall
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/erika-kirk-cbs-news-town-hall-highlights/
— Erika Kirk talks faith and grief, fields question from last person to speak to Charlie: How to watch the CBS News town hall
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-town-hall-erika-kirk-how-to-watch/

NBC NEWS
— ‘We can’t be bullied’: How Trump and the GOP’s redistricting push in Indiana backfired. Aggressive tactics employed by Trump and his allies did not sit well with state lawmakers, who delivered a major political blow to national Republicans ahead of the midterms.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/trump-gop-redistricting-push-indiana-backfired-rcna247832

WASHINGTON POST
— DD: Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote Omar.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/12/13/illhan-omar-donald-trump/
— Efforts to require Asian American history in schools after anti-Asian hate starting to pay off. Since pandemic-fueled anti-Asian hate surged in 2020, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander advocates have mobilized to make AAPI history mandatory learning.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2025/12/12/aapi-asian-american-history-public-school-education/ccd5c852-d755-11f0-a93c-a869cf73ebd6_story.html

POLITICO
— Orice Williams Brown is queued up to lead GAO. Brown will take over as acting head of GAO in a few weeks. DD: Dodaro and Brown know full-well that GAO a) wasted my career, b) forced me to retire when I was 49 years old in 1997, and c) replaced me with my Black subordinate who had less work experience than I had, who had less education than I had, who had one professional certification while I had six, and who had no professional license like the one I had.
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/12/10/congress/the-federal-governments-next-top-watchdog-is-queued-up-00685439
(FROM THE ARTICLE: When Comptroller General Gene Dodaro steps down later this month as head of the Government Accountability Office, he plans to pick the agency’s chief operating officer as his acting successor. Orice Williams Brown will replace Dodaro beginning Dec. 30, the day after his 15-year term ends at the helm of GAO, the agency confirmed Wednesday. She will be the first woman to serve in that role. The acting comptroller general will take over amid the agency’s ongoing investigations into President Donald Trump’s withholding of billions of dollars in federal cash. GAO is also under increased pressure to sue the Trump administration for impoundment and has been publicly derided this year by some top Republicans who accuse the agency of being unobjective. After Brown replaces Dodaro, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is supposed to put together a list of candidates for Trump to consider nominating for Senate confirmation to the role. The acting GAO head is allowed to be included on the roster, as Dodaro was when he served in an acting capacity prior to being confirmed in 2010. Brown has worked at GAO for more than 30 years and currently runs day-to-day management of the agency’s work helping Congress carry out its constitutional responsibilities. Before serving in her current role, she headed congressional relations for the agency.)

GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE
— Exit interview: GAO’s Gene Dodaro talks impoundments, tenure and retirement priorities. The outgoing comptroller general reflects on leading the agency through national crises, building a skilled workforce and guiding federal oversight before his term ends Dec. 29.  DD: Dodaro knows full-well that GAO a) wasted my career, b) forced me to retire when I was 49 years old in 1997, and c) replaced me with my Black subordinate who had less work experience than I had, who had less education than I had, who had one professional certification while I had six, and who had no professional license like the one I had.
https://www.govexec.com/oversight/2025/12/exit-interview-gaos-gene-dodaro-talks-impoundments-tenure-and-retirement-priorities/410114/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: In this exit interview, Dodaro discusses what it’s like to lead a workforce of “trained critics,” how to build relationships with an array of political figures and GAO’s future, particularly as it runs into conflict with the Trump administration over impoundments, which is when the executive branch delays or withholds congressionally approved funding. . .I’ve prioritized making sure we have a very robust internship program here at GAO. We usually bring in about 200 interns every year. It’s one of our main pipelines for future development of the GAO workforce. . .We have over 3,000 highly trained professionals of virtually all disciplines. Financial auditing is only about 10% of what we do. The rest of it is performance audits. We need economists. We need subject area experts in defense, healthcare, transportation, etc. We have actuaries. We have scientists. We have computer security experts, acquisition experts, so we have a wide range of subject area technical experts. . .We do work that supports over 90% of the standing committees of the Congress. There’s a wide footprint, so you have to have somebody who can manage a multidisciplinary workforce on a portfolio of work that transcends across the federal government’s activities. They have to be a person that can work with these highly trained people at GAO. . .I leave behind me a very strong workforce. The GAO workforce is among the best in the world.  I have total confidence in them, but you need somebody who can come in and understand how they carry out their activities to make continuous improvement, as I’ve tried to do over my time.

HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL
— DD: According to Democrat and RINO leaders, if Whites and males do better at something than minorities and females, it is because Whites and males benefitted from discrimination against minorities and females.
https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/wappp/spring-2026-seminar-fairness-and-meritocracy-work

POLITICO
— Trump’s plans to shatter the bureaucracy have a green light at the Supreme Court. Incremental wins at the court give the White House confidence to go further. DD: Democrats run the federal government. Only those federal employees who are the following have Civil Service protections: Democrats who are minority, female, younger, veteran, disabled, LGBTQ, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/07/supreme-court-trump-firings-humphreys-executor-00679728

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.