July 16, 2024

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

ABC7
— Democrats say “RNC 2024: Day 2 will focus on immigration; Nikki Haley to speak. Chants of ‘we love Trump’ could be heard as he entered the RNC on night 1.”
https://abc7chicago.com/live-updates/rnc-2024-day-2-donald-trump-makes-appearance-on-night-1-immigration-and-crime-will-be-focus-tuesday/15062421/
— Democrats say “Protesters rally at GOP convention for abortion and immigrant rights, end to war in Gaza.”
https://abc7chicago.com/post/republican-convention-2024-protestors-begin-gather-outside-fiserv/15060959/
— Democrats say Trump says about Vance “You can help me win” and “How Trump landed on JD Vance as his VP pick.”
https://abc7chicago.com/post/why-did-trump-pick-jd-vance/15062411/
— Democrats say “Suspect purchased 50 rounds of ammunition on day of shooting.”
https://abc7chicago.com/live-updates/donald-trump-rally-shooting-secret-service-director-says-police-were-inside-building-shooter-was-positioned-on/15057158/

NBC5
— Democrats say “What to watch as the Republican National Convention enters its second day in Milwaukee. On Tuesday, the overview shifts to immigration and crime, according to Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee.”
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/what-to-watch-as-the-republican-national-convention-enters-its-second-day-in-milwaukee/3491097/
— Democrats ask “What do Illinois Republicans think of Trump running mate JD Vance?” and say “Some expressed surprise at the choice, but delegates agreed they will support the ticket.”
https://www.nbcchicago.com/2024-rnc-republican-national-convention-milwaukee/what-do-illinois-republicans-think-of-trump-running-mate-jd-vance/3490973/
— Democrats say “Tuesday at the RNC to feature focus on immigration, crime. The theme of the second day will be “Make America Safe Again,” according to convention officials.” (COMMENT: The younger that you are, the less education that you have, and the fewer job skills that you have, the more that illegal immigration harms you. I had to work my way through college. If there had been as many illegals in America back then as there are now, they would have gotten the jobs I got doing yard work, delivering newspapers, washing dishes, cleaning golf shoes, chipping slag, pumping gasoline, and delivering mail. And if not that, the wages that I was paid would have been less because illegals drive wages down.)
https://www.nbcchicago.com/2024-rnc-republican-national-convention-milwaukee/rnc-tuesday-nikki-haley-speak-trump-platform-immigration/3491040/
— Democrats say Sen. Tim Scott says “America ‘isn’t a racist country” and Scott “blasts Chicago leadership over violence.” (COMMENT: Ever since the Civil War, Democrat leaders have ever-increasingly shouted at Blacks that Republicans cause all the problems that Blacks have and that Republicans are racists who should be gotten rid of once and for all.)
https://www.nbcchicago.com/2024-rnc-republican-national-convention-milwaukee/tim-scott-america-isnt-racist-blasts-chicago-over-gun-violence/3490744/

CBS2
— Democrats say “Love fest for JD Vance among Illinois delegates at Republican National Convention.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy_Vgll7bjE

WTTW
— Democrats say “From Immigration to Public Safety, What a Trump Victory Could Mean for Chicago.”
https://news.wttw.com/2024/07/16/immigration-public-safety-what-trump-victory-could-mean-chicago

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Democrats say “Suburban native, far-right conservative talk show host Charlie Kirk speaks at RNC. The 30-year-old Wheeling High School grad founded Turning Point USA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting conservative values on high school and college campuses.” (COMMENT: The more planks in the Republican Party platform that you promote, the more that Democrats and RINOs call you far-right.)
https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/rnc-2024/2024/07/15/charlie-kirk-rnc-republican-convention-speech
— Democrats say “Donald Trump’s VP pick, Sen. J.D. Vance, is the reason Chicago has no top federal prosecutor. Former President Trump wasn’t going to repeat his Mike Pence mistake. He needed someone he could count on to follow orders.”
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2024/07/15/donald-trump-running-mate-selection-jd-vance-april-perry-us-attorney-chicago

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Democrats say “Photos: The Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/07/15/photos-the-republican-national-convention-in-milwaukee/
— Brandon Johnson’s desperate loan gambit to keep the Chicago Teachers Union happy. – Editorial
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/07/16/editorial-cps-brandon-johnson-ctu-budget/

DAILY HERALD
— Democrats say “What to watch as the Republican National Convention enters its second day in Milwaukee.”
https://www.dailyherald.com/20240716/nation-and-world-politics/what-to-watch-as-the-republican-national-convention-enters-its-second-day-in-milwaukee/
— Democrats say “JD Vance is a relative political unknown. He’s been asked to help Donald Trump avenge his 2020 loss.”
https://www.dailyherald.com/20240716/nation-and-world-politics/jd-vance-is-a-relative-political-unknown-hes-been-asked-to-help-donald-trump-avenge-his-2020-loss/
— Democrats say “Fact-checking Day 1 of the 2024 Republican National Convention.” (COMMENT: During the almost 18 years that I worked for GAO, I often worked as a fact checker, and especially during my last 11 years as a GS-13 Step 1-10 Analyst, currently $115,439-$150,075/year.)
https://www.dailyherald.com/20240716/nation-and-world-politics/fact-checking-day-1-of-the-2024-republican-national-convention/

CHAMPAIGN/URBANA NEWS GAZETTE & WAND TV
— Democrats say “Protesters rally peacefully at GOP convention for abortion and immigrant rights, end to war in Gaza.”
https://www.news-gazette.com/news/nation-world/protesters-rally-at-gop-convention-for-abortion-and-immigrant-rights-end-to-war-in-gaza/article_9af8c43c-8ec9-56e7-a667-340701db9788.html
https://www.wandtv.com/news/national/protesters-rally-peacefully-at-gop-convention-for-abortion-and-immigrant-rights-end-to-war-in/article_a613b591-d449-5065-b63a-7b042ff8cde9.html

SOUTHERN
— Democrats say “What to know about Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle.” (COMMENT: While I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO’s Chicago office 1980-1997, they assigned me to work for, work with, and/or supervise all the many females they hired. Females were my superiors during my last 8 years at GAO and a female was my immediate supervisor during my last 4 years. Those females led GAO’s successful effort to force me to take their early retirement “offer” in 1997 when I was 49 years old. Further, during my last 8 years, they assigned me to supervise all their female employees who they wanted to get rid because they had serious performance problems. All the females who they promoted over me had less work experience than I had, had less education than I had, had no professional certifications or fewer than I had, and/or had no professional license like the CPA license that I had. My Democrat GAO superiors stressed to all my many female superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates that I opposed gender based preference giving. They hinted/implied/argued/shouted at them that I caused all their problems.)
https://southernillinoisnow.com/2024/07/15/what-to-know-about-secret-service-director-kimberly-cheatle/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: In a 2022 interview with the trade publication Security Magazine, Cheatle reflected on being a woman in the Secret Service. “That achievement in a male-dominated industry was not lost on me,” Cheatle said. “I kept a photo on my desk of the first five women sworn into the service, and I used that to remind me that these women created opportunities for me and I can help others grow and lead as well.” Cheatle graduated from Eastern Illinois University in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, according to the News-Gazette, and she first applied for a job as a Secret Service agent before leaving school.)

CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— Democrats acknowledge that “Signs of trouble at Trump rally were evident in minutes before gunman opened fire.”
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/national/ap-signs-of-trouble-at-trump-rally-were-evident-in-minutes-before-gunman-opened-fire/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Signs of trouble were evident in the minutes before shots rang out at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania: Police had a report of a suspicious man pacing near the magnetometers and were apparently exchanging photos of the suspect. Witnesses pointed and shouted at an armed man on a nearby roof. When a police officer climbed up to the roof to investigate, the gunman turned and pointed his rifle at him. But the officer did not — or could not — fire a single shot. A sniper cut down 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks within seconds of him firing an AR-style rifle toward the former president, but it was too late. Now investigators are trying to painstakingly piece together how an armed man with no military background managed to reach high ground and get the jump on teams of Secret Service agents. Stan Kephart, a former police chief who worked event security for two former presidents, said the shooting followed an “an absolute and abysmal failure” on the part of the Secret Service to protect Trump. The agency is ultimately responsible for the candidate’s safety, he added. “You don’t get to blame other people. They are under your control,” said Kephart, now a consulting expert on law enforcement event security.)
— Democrats say “27% in new survey say Vance ‘best’ or ‘good’ pick for Trump.”
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/national/27-in-new-survey-say-vance-best-or-good-pick-for-trump/

OUR QUAD CITIES
— LaHood on what Trump VP pick Vance brings to the table. – Eric Olsen (COMMENT: For the last job that you were hired for, what did you bring to the table? GAO audits IRS. When GAO hired me in 1980 when I was 31 years old, a) 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 $97,079-$110,020/year, b) I had passed the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979, c) I had almost completed the requirements for a master’s degree in accounting from DePaul, and d) I had earned an MBA from Loyola in 1976. But my Democrat GAO superiors ignored, dismissed, and belittled the aforesaid. They forced me to take a $22,996 (21%) pay cut to transfer from IRS to GAO, a downgrade from GS-12 Step 5 to GS-9 Step 10. They delayed my promotions to GS-11, GS-12, and GS-13 and never promoted me to GS-14. They kept me off audits of IRS until 1986.)
https://www.ourquadcities.com/news/national-news/lahood-on-what-trump-vp-pick-vance-brings-to-the-table/

WGLT
— Democrats and RINOs demonize, denigrate, and condemn the AR-15.
https://www.wglt.org/2024-07-15/why-the-weapon-of-choice-matters-in-the-trump-assassination-attempt

AXIOS
— Democrats say “Illinois GOP leaders (Mary Miller, Kathy Salvi, Tony McCombie, Aaron Del Mar, The Uihleins) to watch in 2024.’
https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2024/07/16/illinois-gop-leaders-to-watch-2024

POLITICO ILLINOIS
— Democrats say “J.D. Vance’s Illinois connection.”
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2024/07/16/jd-vances-illinois-connection-00168596
(FROM THE ARTICLE: You can say he has one connection to Illinois. He’s been blamed for holding up the confirmation of April Perry as Chicago’s top federal prosecutor. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth recently accused Vance of wanting to “grind the Department of Justice to a halt” over the confirmation. About his VP slot: Neither senator commented on Vance being named Donald Trump’s running mate. Durbin will join Gov. JB Pritzker at an unrelated event today, so we’ll wait for the Illinois press corps to pounce. . .Former Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger headlined “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and called out Vance for criticizing U.S. support of Ukraine in the war against Russia. “They are celebrating that choice in Milwaukee and in Moscow,” he said.)

CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2024/07/16/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-326/

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

WIREPOINTS
— March 11, 2016 in Chicago: The Day Violence Against Trump Campaign Was Legitimized. – Mark Glennon
https://wirepoints.org/march-11-2016-in-chicago-the-day-violence-against-trump-campaign-was-legitimized-wirepoints/

CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS
— At national convention, Illinois’ beleaguered GOP portrays calm amid internal storm.-  PETER HANCOCK & HANNAH MEISEL (COMMENT: Illinois Republicans like me who are conservative, that is, who are platform Republicans, want direct election of Illinois Republican Party (IRP) State Central Committee (SCC) members. Because I promote direct election of IRP SCC members, IRP SCC members who oppose direct election used pretexts to remove me from the 2024 IRP State Convention Platform and Resolutions Committee. In 2021, they ended my service as the Republican fundraiser for Wheaton Independence Day parades and fireworks. In 2015, they gerrymandered my DuPage County Milton Township Precinct in Wheaton.)
https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/at-national-convention-illinois-beleaguered-gop-portrays-calm-amid-internal-storm

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

WASHINGTON TIMES
— Trump surprises convention with bandaged cameo. – Seth McLaughlin and Susan Ferrechio
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/jul/15/donald-trump-surprises-republican-national-convent/
— Biden rejects responsibility for overheated rhetoric: ‘I’m not engaged in that’ – Stephen Dinan
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/jul/15/joe-biden-rejects-responsibility-overheated-rhetor/

WASHINGTON EXAMINER
— Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) unloads on Secret Service failures: ‘It’s the DEI bulls***’ – Timothy P. Carney (COMMENT: While I worked for the Democrats who ran GAO’s Chicago office 1980-1997, they assigned me to work for, work with, and/or supervise all the many females they hired. Females were my superiors during my last 8 years at GAO and a female was my immediate supervisor during my last 4 years. Those females led GAO’s successful effort to force me to take their early retirement “offer” in 1997 when I was 49 years old. Further, during my last 8 years, they assigned me to supervise all their female employees who they wanted to get rid because they had serious performance problems. All the females who they promoted over me had less work experience than I had, had less education than I had, had no professional certifications or fewer than I had, and/or had no professional license like the CPA license that I had. My Democrat GAO superiors stressed to all my many female superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates that I opposed gender based preference giving. They hinted/implied/argued/shouted at them that I caused all their problems.)
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/beltway-confidential/3082918/congresswoman-unloads-secret-service-failures-dei/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: “I think what we’re seeing is what happens when you are more focused on checking boxes, then you are actually getting the most qualified people in the room,” she said. “There is a lot of work and discussions that needs to be had about who are we hiring to protect presidential candidates,” the congresswoman said. “Donald Trump is six-foot-two. I’m five-foot-three. You wouldn’t want me protecting him. I cannot physically take a bullet for him at that height. And so when you have people who are just not physically capable of doing so, we have to have that conversation.” She summarized the DEI approach as “we need so many of X, Y, and Z,” saying this approach “has really put us all collectively in danger and it’s a real shame.”)

NEW YORK POST
— Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle landed job after push by Jill Biden’s office. – Steven Nelson
https://nypost.com/2024/07/15/us-news/secret-service-director-kim-cheatle-landed-job-after-push-by-jill-bidens-office-sources/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Four sources close to President Biden’s family, including people who interacted with Cheatle during the Obama-Biden administration, said she was well liked by the future first lady and her most senior aides, including top adviser Anthony Bernal. “Cheatle served on Dr. Biden’s second lady detail and Anthony pushed for her,” a Democratic insider told The Post. “Anthony has no national security or law enforcement experience. He should have no influence over the selection of the USSS director.” “I heard at the time she was being considered for director that Anthony had pushed her forward as an option,” another well-placed source told The Post. Bernal, 51, is widely regarded as rivaling even White House chief of staff Jeff Zients in terms of influence over administration decisions. He has faced allegations of bullying and sexual harassment from colleagues who have likened his sway to that of Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin over the Romanov court. “Anthony is obsessed with being DEI-compliant,” a third source told The Post, using the acronym for diversity, equity and inclusion — the human resources practice of attempting to ensure diversity in the workforce.)
— Biden admin flying migrants from overwhelmed California to Texas after Gov. Abbott’s crackdown deterred crossings — at $80K per flight. –  Jennie Taer
https://nypost.com/2024/07/15/us-news/biden-admin-flying-migrants-from-overwhelmed-california-to-texas-after-gov-abbotts-crackdown-deterred-crossings/
— Everything to know about RNC 2024: When it’s on, how to watch, plus speaker schedule – Caitlin Doornbos and Ryan King
https://nypost.com/2024/07/15/us-news/rnc-guide-2024-when-its-on-how-to-watch-speaker-schedule-2/

AMERICAN THINKER
— Walking Over The Graves of Our Heroes. – Allan J. Feifer
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/07/walking_over_the_graves_of_our_heroes.html

BREITBART
— Joe Biden’s Parole Pipeline Welcomes Nearly 1.2 Million Migrants to U.S. – JOHN BINDER
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/07/15/joe-bidens-parole-pipeline-welcomes-nearly-1-2million-migrants-us/
— Trump VP Pick J.D. Vance Hailed as ‘One of the Best’ Senators on Immigration. – JOHN BINDER
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2024/07/15/trump-vp-pick-j-d-vance-hailed-as-one-of-the-best-senators-on-immigration/

EPOCH TIMES
— 39 Things to Know About JD Vance, Trump’s Running Mate. The freshman senator and best-selling author from Ohio is the first millennial on a major party ticket. Here’s a rundown of his background and stances. – Joseph Lord, Jackson Richman
https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/39-things-to-know-about-jd-vance-trumps-running-mate-5687131
(FROM THE ARTICLE: 2. He’s a Catholic. Mr. Vance was raised Protestant, but later converted to Catholicism, officially becoming Catholic in August 2019.
3. He’s Married to Usha Chilukuri Vance. Mr. Vance is married to Usha Chilukuri Vance, who he met at Yale Law School. They married in 2014.
Ms. Vance currently works as a corporate litigator. She has clerked for Supreme Court Chief Justice John. Roberts and then-appellate Judge Brett Kavanaugh. She would be the first Hindu spouse of a vice president. . .9. He Experienced the Decline of the Rust Belt. In both his memoir and the movie adaptation, Mr. Vance explains his experience of the decline of the Rust Belt, and the impacts it had on those living there. Speaking about his native Middletown, Mr. Vance wrote in Hillbilly Elegy, “There is a lack of agency here— a feeling that you have little control over your life and a willingness to blame everyone but yourself. ”He’s made clear that this experience has continued to shape his political life and decisions. . .11. His Parents Divorced When He was a Toddler. Mr. Vance’s parents, Donald Bowman and Bev Vance, divorced when he was very young, leaving Mr. Vance to be raised by his mother. In “Hillbilly Elegy,” Mr. Bowman is described as having been largely absent from Mr. Vance’s life, though the two reconnected later in life. Mr. Vance says both of his parents struggled to maintain stability in their employment, both largely worked a series of odd jobs over the years. . .15. His Grandparents Were Democrats. Like many in the Rust Belt of the late 20th century, Mr. Vance’s grandparents were pro-union Democrats. Mr. Vance describes their attitude toward politics in “Hillbilly Elegy,” writing, “All politicians might be crooks, but if there were any exceptions, they were undoubtedly members of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal coalition. Mr. Vance said the exception was 1984, when his grandfather voted for President Ronald Reagan. . .16. He’s a Marine Corps. Iraq Combat vet. Mr. Vance served in Iraq as a Marine combat correspondent during the mid-2000s. . .19. He Was an Editor of the Yale Law Journal
While studying law, Mr. Vance served on the editorial staff of the Yale Law Journal. . .22. He’s Sponsored Programs to Combat Drug Addiction. In 2016, Mr. Vance left California and returned to Ohio, where he helped launch an effort to combat opioid abuse in the state. Called “Our Ohio Renewal,” the project was short-lived, and the online domain for the website is no longer accessible. . .36. He’s Critical of the Iraq War. Though he served in the Iraq War, Mr. Vance has since been critical of the conflict, saying he made a “mistake” in initially supporting it. “I served my country honorably, and I saw when I went to Iraq that I had been lied to, that the promises of the foreign policy establishment of this country were a complete joke,” he said on the Senate floor in April. . .37. Critical of Ukraine Aid. Mr. Vance has been critical of continued U.S. support for the war in Ukraine. Since taking office, he’s voted against every Ukraine aid package that’s come to the floor. He’s called for Europe to bear the brunt of financing the war. Mr. Vance wrote in an April op-ed for The New York Times that the current trajectory of the war is unsustainable for either the U.S. or Ukraine. He said that the notion that Ukraine will reclaim all its land lost to Russia is “fantastical.”. . . 39. He Says US Focus Should Be on China. Mr. Vance has also taken a tough stance on China, encouraging the United States to focus its efforts there. Between war in Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, Mr. Vance said, America has “to pick and choose” where it invests its resources. “We should be focused on our own problems, and that’s mostly China,” Mr. Vance said in April. “My argument is the Chinese are focused on real power. They’re not focused on how tough people talk on TV or how strong our alleged resolve is. They’re focused on how strong we actually are, and to be strong enough to push back against the Chinese, we’ve got to focus there, and right now, we’re stretched too thin.”)

FOX NEWS
— US Secret Service director plans to ‘stay on’ as calls grow for her resignation. Cheatle called the attempted assassination on Trump ‘unacceptable,’ adding the ‘buck stops with her’ – Greg Wehner
https://www.foxnews.com/us/us-secret-service-director-plans-stay-on-calls-grow-her-resignation

TOWNHALL
— The Republican Party Platform is Good. – Mark Lewis
https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2024/07/16/the-republican-party-platform-is-good-n2641988
— DEI Is Transitioning to Die – Alan Joseph Bauer
https://townhall.com/columnists/alanjosephbauer/2024/07/16/dei-is-transitioning-to-die-n2641940

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

CNN
— Democrats say “Fact-checking night 1 of the Republican National Convention.” (COMMENT: During the almost 18 years that I worked for GAO, I often worked as a fact checker, and especially during my last 11 years as a GS-13 Step 1-10 Analyst, currently $115,439-$150,075/year.)
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/15/politics/fact-check-night-one-republican-national-convention/index.html
— Democrats say “Rally security failure has Secret Service at odds with its local law enforcement allies.”
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/16/politics/secret-service-trump-rally-blame/index.html

YAHOO
— Democrats acknowledge that Vance says “He Changed My Mind” and that “Vance Responds To Sean Hannity About Calling Donald Trump “America’s Hitler” And Other Insults.”
https://au.news.yahoo.com/changed-mind-j-d-vance-015817265.html

MSN
— Vance opposes Democrat efforts to replace voters who have demographics that vote for Republicans with voters who have demographics that vote for Republicans.
https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/when-democrats-accused-jd-vance-of-endorsing-racist-great-replacement-theory/ar-BB1q2h5z
— Jim Jordan Issues Warning to Parents on ‘Illegal Aliens’ Hiding in Schools. – Kaitlin Lewis
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/jim-jordan-issues-warning-to-parents-on-illegal-aliens-hiding-in-schools/ar-BB1kYnhP

ABC NEWS
— Democrats say “The rise of JD Vance: From ‘never-Trump guy’ to VP pick. Vance could reach new heights, possibly serving as Trump’s vice president.” (COMMENT: How much money did your parents have? While my parents had more money than Vance’s parents had, I had to work my way through college. I did yard work, delivered newspapers, washed dishes, cleaned golf shoes, chipped slag, pumped gasoline, and delivered mail. My critics/opponents have/had wealthy parents.)
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/rise-jd-vance-trump-guy-potential-vp-pick/story?id=111310334
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Vance’s rise began when he released his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” where he reflects on his upbringing and growing up in a low-income family involved in violence and addiction in Middletown, Ohio — part of America’s Rust Belt.)

NBC NEWS
— Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly promote more LGBTQ.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/anti-lgbtq-rhetoric-plays-prominent-role-first-night-rnc-rcna162028

CBS NEWS
— Democrats say “2024 RNC Day 1 fact check of the Republican National Convention.” (COMMENT: During the almost 18 years that I worked for GAO, I often worked as a fact checker, and especially during my last 11 years as a GS-13 Step 1-10 Analyst, currently $115,439-$150,075/year.)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/2024-rnc-day-1-fact-check-republican-national-convention/

NEW YORK TIMES
— Democrats say “Fact-Checking Day 1 of the Republican National Convention.”  (COMMENT: During the almost 18 years that I worked for GAO, I often worked as a fact checker, and especially during my last 11 years as a GS-13 Step 1-10 Analyst, currently $115,439-$150,075/year.)
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/07/15/us/rnc-fact-check
— Democrats say “Trump Rally Gunman ‘Didn’t Want Attention’ in School, Classmates Said. Fellow students described the gunman, Thomas Crooks, as intelligent but solitary, someone who tried to avoid teasing by his classmates.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/15/us/trump-rally-shooting-crooks.html

WASHINGTON POST
— Democrats say “J.D. Vance’s ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ a plea to the White working class.” (COMMENT: How much money did your parents have? While my parents had more money than Vance’s parents had, I had to work my way through college. I did yard work, delivered newspapers, washed dishes, cleaned golf shoes, chipped slag, pumped gasoline, and delivered mail. My critics/opponents have/had wealthy parents.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2024/07/15/hillbilly-elegy-jd-vance-review/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Vance grew up in what his memoir describes as “an Ohio steel town that has been hemorrhaging jobs and hope for as long as I can remember.” His mother struggled with addiction; he was raised by his grandparents, neither of whom graduated from high school. . .Though he has overcome his demons, Vance is sympathetic to those left behind. As he describes their plight, “From low social mobility to poverty to divorce and drug addiction, my home is a hub of misery.” And in contrast to other groups that also experience widespread poverty, “working class whites are the most pessimistic group in America.”)
— Democrats say “J.D. Vance adds veteran appeal to Trump’s populist campaign. As a former Marine Corps grunt, the VP pick speaks to the military and lower working class.” (COMMENT: Because my parents lacked money, during my freshman and sophomore years in high school, my plan was to enlist and use the G.I. Bill to get a college degree. But early in my junior year in 1964, I realized that I could earn a college degree much sooner a) if I got accepted by UIC, b) if I commuted to/from classes at UIC and my parents’ home in Crete, and c) if could earn enough money with part-time jobs. The part-time job that I got working for the Park Forest Post Office enabled me to do that, and not only that, but to buy a new 1968 Oldsmobile 442 in 1967, to buy a new 1969 Dodge Charger SE in 1968, to transfer to NIU in 1969, and to graduate debt-free from NIU in 1970 owning that Charger.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/15/vance-trump-veterans-appeal/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: I interviewed Vance back in August 2016, when “Hillbilly Elegy” was published. “I think in a lot of ways, and for a lot of kids, frankly, the military is that ticket out,” he told me. “It shows you a different world. It gives you a set of skills that I simply didn’t have when I joined the Marines. … From there, I went to Ohio State, and then I went to Yale Law School,” he continued. “But it really provided a number of opportunities that again, I wouldn’t have had if I hadn’t had the Marine Corps.” The skills he acquired as a Marine took him to Big Law, then Big Tech, and on to Big Politics and the Ohio Senate contest of 2022.
— Democrats say “Thousands of RNC protesters denounce Trump, GOP agenda in Milwaukee. Anti-Trump protesters at the Republican National Convention decried political violence of all kinds while condemning threats to democracy and the GOP agenda.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/15/republican-national-convention-protests-trump/
— Democrats say “Jan. 6 marchers at Republican convention complicate efforts to avoid subject.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2024/07/16/trump-republicans-convention-jan-6/

USA TODAY
— Democrats say : “RNC 2024: Which Republicans have stayed away from Milwaukee.” Which Republican leaders in your county, township, and municipality boycotted the 2024 Illinois Republican Party State Convention in Collinsville?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/16/rnc-2024-who-is-staying-away-from-milwaukee/74415168007/
— Democrats say “Tuesday’s RNC theme puts focus on law enforcement.”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/16/tuesday-rnc-theme-what-make-america-safe-again-means/74421209007/

U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
— Democrats say “Trump’s Running Mate: Lawyer and Author-Turned-MAGA Senator J.D. Vance. The former lawyer and author who rose to prominence for a gut-wrenching memoir of addiction in America has quickly become a powerful voice for Trump in Congress.” (COMMENT: How much money did your parents have? While my parents had more money than Vance’s parents had, I had to work my way through college. I did yard work, delivered newspapers, washed dishes, cleaned golf shoes, chipped slag, pumped gasoline, and delivered mail. My critics/opponents have/had wealthy parents.)
https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2024-07-15/trumps-running-mate-lawyer-and-author-turned-maga-senator-j-d-vance
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Once a corporate lawyer who attended Yale Law School, Vance rose to national prominence as the author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” a poignant and gut-wrenching memoir that showcased poverty, isolation and lack of opportunity that haunted his family and others in rural Kentucky.)

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Democrats say “Trump Bets on a MAGA Successor in J.D. Vance. His choice of the 39-year-old Senator reinforces his base, rather than appealing to a broader coalition.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/jd-vance-donald-trump-vice-president-2024-election-e37cf310
— Democrats say “J.D. Vance Offers Trump a Fresh Face With a MAGA Profile. Ohio senator has appeal in ‘Blue Wall’ states but might not expand support among suburban women and swing voters.”
https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/j-d-vance-offers-trump-a-fresh-face-with-a-maga-profile-034d3083
— Democrats ask “Who Is in Donald Trump’s Inner Circle?” and say “These Are His Closest Advisers.”
https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/trump-advisors-inner-circle-presidential-campaign-0e056dee
— Democrats say “Elon Musk Has Said He Is Committing Around $45 Million a Month to a New Pro-Trump Super PAC.”
https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/elon-musk-has-said-he-is-committing-around-45-million-a-month-to-a-new-pro-trump-super-pac-dda53823
— “The Trump Shooting Changed Everything. The nation narrowly averted tragedy Saturday. Is it enough to ease our political polarization?” – James Piereson
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-trump-shooting-changed-everything-80f11bd8?mod=opinion_lead_pos5

GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE
— Democrats acknowledge that “Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, has been at the center of GOP efforts in Congress to “dismantle” diversity, equity and inclusion programs at federal agencies, and has suggested that if Trump wins re-election, he should fire “every mid-level bureaucrat” in government.” Soon, if not already, all federal employees will be conservative-hating Republican-hating Democrats who are minority, female, younger, unmarried, LGBTQ, non-Protestant, non-German American, and/or have ancestors who have not been in America for a long time.
https://www.govexec.com/management/2024/07/heres-now-trumps-new-vice-presidential-pick-stacks-federal-workforce-issues/398056/

NEW YORK MAGAZINE
— Democrats say “J.D. Vance on His MAGA Conversion. Trump’s man in Ohio once called him “America’s Hitler,” but there’s an explanation.”
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2024/07/j-d-vance-explains-his-conversion-to-trump-and-maga.html

INSIDE HIGHER EDUCTAION
— Democrat teachers ever-increasingly promote the Democrat Party platform.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/academic-freedom/2024/07/16/bridging-campus-divide-dangerous-ideas-ai

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.