December 25 Evening Edition

ABC7
— President Donald Trump lashes out as impeachment trial stuck in limbo – AP
https://abc7chicago.com/politics/trump-lashes-out-as-impeachment-trial-stuck-in-limbo/5786487/
— Lightfoot signs new consent letter, allowing refugees in Chicago after Trump executive order
https://abc7chicago.com/politics/lightfoot-signs-new-consent-letter-allowing-refugees-in-chicago/5785872/

CBS2
— Mayor Lightfoot Issues Letter To U.S. State Department Authorizing Refugee Resettlement In Chicago
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/12/24/mayor-lightfoot-issues-letter-to-u-s-state-department-authorizing-refugee-resettlement-in-chicago/

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Impeachment vote will determine Underwood’s future – CHARLES SELLE
https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/lake-county-news-sun/opinion/ct-lns-selle-underwood-impeachment-vote-st-1226-20191225-4t2tid4enzc5vdom5tychbdqva-story.html

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Lightfoot to State Department: Refugees still welcome in Chicago “… our doors continue to remain open to refugees from around the world that are seeking a new home for themselves and a new future in our great country,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement. – Sam Charles (DIERSEN: From what I see, ever-increasingly, doors in Chicago are closed to individuals, organizations, and companies that are Trump supporters, Protestant, conservative, patriotic, Republican, American, White, male, older, gun owners, German American, draft avoiders, and those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time.)
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/12/24/21036959/lightfoot-refugees-chicago-state-department-trump-administration-letter-pritzker
— State regulators out to revoke video gambling kingpin Rick Heidner’s license The Illinois Gaming Board claims Heidner made an “illegal inducement” to keep his slot machines in a chain of gambling parlors. – Mitchell Armentrout
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/12/25/21032272/rick-heidner-gambling-license-illinois-gaming-board

DAILY HERALD
— Notable deaths: Remembering many who made a difference
https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20191225/notable-deaths-remembering-many-who-made-a-difference
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Barbara Murphy, who led the DuPage GOP when there was no stronger Republican bastion in the country. . .Barbara Murphy, 81 The longtime DuPage County Republican chairwoman never considered herself a trailblazer, but her contemporaries did. Known for her sharp and analytical mind, she climbed to the top of the then-male dominated leadership of the DuPage GOP at a time when the county was one of the most reliably Republican places in the nation. She felt the pinnacle of her career came in 1996 when she was elected as a delegate backing presidential candidate Bob Dole.)

JOURNAL STANDARD
— Moral standards take a back seat to practical politics – Scott Reeder (DIERSEN: My critics/opponents want me to use my GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails a) to promote who/what they want me to promote and b) to harm who/what they want me to harm. My critics/opponents harm me because I refuse to do that. I am no one’s operative or dupe.) 
https://www.journalstandard.com/opinion/20191225/moral-standards-take-back-seat-to-practical-politics

MCHENRY COUNTY BLOG
— An Illinois Night Before Christmas
http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2019/12/25/an-illinois-night-before-christmas/ 
— Christmas According to Kids
http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2019/12/25/christmas-according-to-kids/
— Allen Skillicorn Challenges Jesse White’s Interpretation of Satanic Statue as Being a “Holiday Symbol
http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2019/12/25/allen-skillicorn-challenges-jesse-whites-interpretation-of-satanic-statue-as-being-a-holiday-symbol/
— Erik Sivertsen Gets Lump of Coal for Christmas
http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2019/12/25/erik-sivertsen-gets-lump-of-coal-for-christmas/

WASHINGTON TIMES
— Why states must address pension reform now, before it’s too late Under-funded state pension obligations threaten fiscal solvency, depriving others of needed resources – Keith Greinet and Seth Grove
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/dec/25/why-states-must-address-pension-reform-now-before-/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Public employee pension payments in states like California, New York and Illinois run so large and so generous they continually threaten a massive reordering of spending priorities not to mention default. No one wants to see any state go hat in hand to the feds for pension bailout, especially since it will be impossible to say “No” after the first one is granted. So now, when the money is coming in, is the time for a fix. . . As the Government Accountability Office explained in testimony to the Joint Economic Committee, “The Pension Protection Act of 2006 provided that large private-sector pension plans will be considered at risk of defaulting on their liabilities if they have less than 80 percent funding ratios.”)

WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Ever-increasingly, Democrats, Libertarians, Greens, and RINOs use citizens of foreign countries to viciously demonize, to viciously denigrate, and to viciously condemn Republicans. 
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/heartsick-warren-uses-christmas-message-to-bash-trumps-cruel-border-policy

FOX NEWS
— Trump campaign offers online class in how to debate ‘snowflake’ relatives – Ronn Blitzer
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-camp-offers-online-class-in-how-to-debate-snowflake-relatives

DAILY WIRE
— Jill Biden Feeds Foreign Nationals In Mexico Before Christmas, Faces Intense Backlash – Ryan Saavedra (DIERSEN: Ever-increasingly, Democrats illegally encourage citizens of foreign countries to illegally come to America illegally.)
https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-jill-biden-feeds-foreign-nationals-in-mexico-before-christmas-faces-intense-backlash

WASHINGTON POST
— Impasse over Senate impeachment trial likely to last weeks as both sides dig in – John Wagner and Paul Kane 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/impasse-over-senate-impeachment-trial-likely-to-last-weeks-as-both-sides-dig-in/2019/12/23/73a696e6-25a7-11ea-ad73-2fd294520e97_story.html

MERIDIAN STAR
— Many blessings to be thankful for this Christmas – Mike Giles (DIERSEN: I should write a book about my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes. They viciously demonize me, viciously denigrate me, and viciously condemn me for my not being thankful enough. They hint/imply/argue/shout that I should be extremely thankful that they have not completely destroyed me yet.) 
https://www.meridianstar.com/sports/outdoors/mike-giles-many-blessings-to-be-thankful-for-this-christmas/article_a467979d-11e6-5a6f-9e49-c9b30f77dec5.html

NASDAQ
— 12 Reasons to Be Thankful for Social Security – Selena Maranjian (DIERSEN: My Social Security is dramatically reduced because I get a Civil Service Retirement System pension.) 
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/12-reasons-to-be-thankful-for-social-security-2019-12-25

FED WEEK
— Trump Thanks Federal Employees, Cites Raise, Parental Leave (DIERSEN: I was a federal employee for almost 30 years. Many, if not most, of my past/present critics/opponents despise, if not hate, past, present, and future federal employees.) 
https://www.fedweek.com/fedweek/trump-thanks-federal-employees-cites-raise-parental-leave/
— OPM Proposes Broadening Reinstatement Eligibility (DIERSEN: In 1980, I had worked for IRS for almost 9 years, the last 5 1/2 years of which at the GS-12 Step 1-5 levels, currently $93,592/year. I had passed the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979. I had almost completed the requirements for a master’s degree in accounting from DePaul. I had earned an MBA from Loyola in 1976. GAO audits IRS. In 1980, if I had been a Democrat, minority, and/or female, the Democrats who ran GAO would have transferred me in as a GS-13 Step 1, currently $98,198/year. Instead, disgustingly, outrageously, the Democrats who ran GAO forced me to take a $19,568/year (21%) pay cut to transfer in, a downgrade to GS-9 Step 10, currently $74,024/year. If I had been a Democrat, minority, and/or female, the Democrats who ran GAO would have immediately assigned me to audits of IRS, but disgustingly, outrageously, and wastefully, the Democrats who ran GAO did not assign me to audits of IRS for 6 years and did not promote me to GS-13 for 6 years. And they might not have done that if I had not earned a master’s degree in accounting in 1980, passed the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt in 1981, and became a licensed CPA in 1981.)
https://www.fedweek.com/fedweek/opm-proposes-broadening-reinstatement-eligibility/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: OPM wants to broaden reinstatement eligibility of those who leave federal employment and then are seeking to return to the government by allowing them to come back at a higher grade than the one they left. Proposed rules would give agencies “greater flexibility in recruiting back to government service former federal employees who have developed enhanced or higher-level skill-sets than they had when they left government. Individuals seeking to rejoin the federal workforce may do so more easily and at grade levels commensurate with the skills and experience they actually possess (and be compensated at such grade levels),” says a December 26 Federal Register notice.)

MARIJUANA MOMENT
— Elizabeth Warren’s Campaign Denies Claim It Rejected Job Applicant Over Marijuana Offense – Kyle Jaeger (DIERSEN: Needless-to-say, activists, candidates, elected officials, party leaders, major donors, political consultants, individuals, organizations, companies, governments, etc. THAT PROMOTE POT SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO HIRE, TO RETAIN, AND TO PROMOTE STONERS.)
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/elizabeth-warrens-campaign-denies-claim-it-rejected-job-applicant-over-marijuana-offense/

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.