July 23 Morning Edition

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— Trump visits Granite City Thursday, home to reopened U.S. Steel mill – Lynn Sweet
https://chicago.suntimes.com/working/trump-visits-granite-city-thursday-reopened-us-steel-mill/
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Pot pushers use veterans to push pot.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/working/ex-navy-seal-from-chicago-area-leading-veterans-battle-for-cannabis-access/
— 44 shot — 7 killed — over weekend of Chicago gun violence – David Struett
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/44-shot-6-killed-weekend-chicago-gun-violence/

 

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: An anti-Trump says “Trump creates a summer of discontent for Republican candidates.”
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-trump-republican-candidates-20180722-story.html
— Report shows management is failing employees – Scott Mautz (DIERSEN: My Democrat superiors in the federal government hinted/implied that their employees who were Democrat, minority, female, younger, and/or veteran wanted them to get rid of their employees who were Republican, White, male, older, and/or non-veteran.)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/success/inc/tca-management-failings-you-need-to-correct-20180716-story.html

 

DAILY HERALD
— FRONT PAGE: Suburban lawmakers call out tollway for $1M in PR spending – Marni Pyke
http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20180723/suburban-lawmakers-call-out-tollway-for-1m-in-pr-spending
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH BIG COLOR PICTURE: Suburban ‘skunk epidemic’ survival tips – Chacour Koop (DIERSEN: I should be illegal to harbor skunks, raccoons, etc. on your property. They go out at night and damage neighboring properties.)
http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20180723/suburban-skunk-epidemic-survival-tips

 

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS
— Why we published an all-woman Tech 50 list – Editorial (DIERSEN: When will Crain’s publish all-woman and all-minority federal government 50 lists? Since the 1960s, the federal government’s top priority has been a) to hire, retain, and promote young Democrat women and young Democrat minorities and b) to make way for them by wasting the careers of and by getting rid of its employees who are Republican, White, male, and/or non-veteran who did not make GS-13 (currently $96,403) by age 25, GS-14 (currently $113,920) by age 30, GS-15 (currently $134,000) by age 35, and Senior Executive Service (currently $164,200) by age 40.)
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180720/ISSUE07/180719833
(FROM THE EDITORIAL: Our 2011 Small Business Week coverage featured the Tech 25, a list of the people propelling the growth of technology entrepreneurship in Chicago. Howard Tullman was there, as CEO of his Flashpoint Media Arts Academy, since this was before he would go on to help create the 1871 Chicago startup hub. So were Sam Yagan, then co-founder of OKCupid, as well as Obama for America veteran Harper Reed and Lightbank partner Paul Lee, to name a few. We’ve since expanded the feature to an annual list of the 50 tech people you need to know now, and we’ve embraced founders of large companies as well as small ones while sprinkling in more financiers, heavyweights, connectors, dreamers, gurus and coders. Over the years, Crain’s technology reporter John Pletz, thanks to his deep and wide knowledge of the sector, has done an incredible job of producing each year’s list, keeping it fresh with new, diverse names while burnishing readers’ understanding of the perennial power players who have remained relevant year in, year out. This year, however, the editors threw John a curveball. With our ongoing Woman Up Project in mind, we asked him to create an all-female Tech 50 for 2018.)

 

CHAMPAIGN/URBANA NEWS GAZETTE
— A move in the right direction on school district consolidation
http://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/editorials/2018-07-20/editorial-move-the-right-direction.html

 

PEORIA JOURNAL STAR
— No prosecutor for 18 months? An embarrassment, Darin LaHood says
http://www.pjstar.com/news/20180722/word-on-street-no-prosecutor-for-18-months-embarrassment-darin-lahood-says

 

WJPF
— Illinois taxes are too high! Newsradio WJPF interview with David McSweeney
http://www.wjpf.com/episode/newsradio-wjpf-interview-with-david-mcsweeney-7/

 

CHICAGO READER
— AS THE DEMOCRAT PARTY’S STRANGLEHOLD ON CHICAGO TIGHTENS: Aldermanic prerogative is reinforcing Chicago’s segregation problem – David North
https://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2018/07/23/study-aldermanic-prerogative-is-reinforcing-chicagos-segregation-problem

 

POLITICO ILLINOIS
— This one is a doozy, even by Chicago standards: Millionaire Chicago mayoral candidate Willie Wilson handed out $300,000 in cash to attendees at a South Side church Sunday. And it gets better: According to Wilson, $100,000 of it came from Gov. Bruce Rauner. – Shia Kapos
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2018/07/23/wilson-hands-out-cash-at-event-with-rauner-janus-stays-on-the-radar-a-debate-kerfuffle-trump-hits-illinois-289651
(FROM THE ARTICLE: “Check this out if you wonder why Illinois politicians are often a national joke. How can Willie Wilson, a candidate for Mayor of Chicago, literally hand out CASH at a public event? This is so wrong!” tweeted, Republican state Rep. David McSweeney.)
— Seating squabble: Thursday’s Lincoln Forum debate between Republican Rep. Peter Roskam and Democratic challenger Sean Casten is sold out. The event was only supposed to have 100 audience guests, ideally supporters evenly split between the two candidates. But when tickets went on sale, Casten’s supporters gobbled them up. Lincoln Forum co-founders Pat Brady, the former state GOP chairman, and Eric Adelstein, a Dem strategist, decided out of fairness to sell an additional 70 tickets to Roskam supporters. “The Lincoln Forum is nonpartisan and we have a duty to have a balanced room,” Brady said. – Shia Kapos (DIERSEN: I should write a book about the two times that Pat Brady spoke at TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois meetings.)
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2018/07/23/wilson-hands-out-cash-at-event-with-rauner-janus-stays-on-the-radar-a-debate-kerfuffle-trump-hits-illinois-289651

 

POLITIFACT ILLINOIS
— Rauner, Pritzker shun transparency even when it might help – Bob Secter, Kiannah Sepeda-Miller
http://www.politifact.com/illinois/article/2018/jul/22/rauner-pritzker-shun-transparency-even-when-it-mig/

 

PRAIRIE STATE WIRE
— State debt surpasses $7 billion, ending streak – Glenn Minnis
https://prairiestatewire.com/stories/511493787-state-debt-surpasses-7-billion-ending-streak

 

ILLINOIS REVIEW
— TRUMP TO VISIT GRANITE CITY ILLINOIS AND DUBUQUE IOWA THURSDAY
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2018/07/trump-to-visit-granite-city-illinois-and-dubuque-iowa-thursday.html
— INDIANA LEGISLATORS FILE AMICUS BRIEF SUPPORTING GUN MANUFACTURERS
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2018/07/indiana-legislators-file-amicus-brief-supporting-gun-manufacturers.html
— ANDRZEJEWSKI: ILLINOIS OFFICIAL LEAVES JOB WITH 144 UNUSED VACATION DAYS WORTH $137,000 (DIERSEN: Federal employees are limited to saving 30 vacation days. When my Democrat GAO superiors forced me to take their early retirement “offer” in 1997, my payout for 30 unused vacation days was $14,461 in today’s dollars. My Democrat superiors in the federal government a) discouraged me from using vacation days and b) encouraged me to give my unused vacation days to my coworkers who had health, and/or other problems.)
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2018/07/andrzejewski-illinois-official-leaves-job-with-144-unused-vacation-days-worth-137000.html

 

GOPUSA
— Trey Gowdy says Russian meddling clear, Donald Trump must ‘act like it’ (DIERSEN: How successful were the Russians in getting voters in your precinct, in your municipality, in your township/ward, in your county, and in Illinois to vote for Trump? What exactly did the Russians do in your precinct, in your municipality, in your township/ward, in your county, and in Illinois?)
http://www.gopusa.com/?p=50845
— If you will be embarrassed to be arrested by ICE don’t enter the country illegally
http://www.gopusa.com/?p=50818
— Homelessness quadruples in liberal Washington town (DIERSEN: For many decades, Democrats have encouraged homeless people to come to and to stay in DuPage County, Milton Township, and Wheaton.)
http://www.gopusa.com/?p=50672

 

FOX NEWS
— Behind the Hostility: How Trump and the media descended to mutual disgust – Howard Kurtz (DIERSEN: My critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes blame me and my GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails a) for their problems, b) for your problems, c) for my problems, and d) for everyone’s problems. I should write a book about critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes.)
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/07/23/behind-hostility-how-trump-and-media-descended-to-mutual-disgust.html

 

WESTERN JOURNAL
— Man and Woman Launch Vicious Attack on Seattle Teen for Wearing MAGA Hat in Public – Jack Davis (DIERSEN: What would anti-Trumps do to you if your wore a MAGA cap in public in your precinct, in your municipality, in your township/ward, in your county, and in Illinois?)
https://www.westernjournal.com/man-woman-launch-vicious-attack-seattle-teen-wearing-maga-hat-public/

 

BREITBART
— RNC Surpasses DNC Again in Fundraising Under Chair Ronna McDaniel – Joshua Caplan
https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/07/20/rnc-surpasses-dnc-again-in-fundraising-under-chair-ronna-mcdaniel/

 

WORLD NET DAILY
— WHAT THE MEDIA WON’T TELL YOU ABOUT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIMES Chuck Norris offers chilling statistics for out-of-control problem
https://www.wnd.com/2018/07/what-the-media-wont-tell-you-about-illegal-immigrant-crimes/

 

NEWSMAX
— The 22 Times Trump Has Slapped Down Putin – David A. Patten (DIERSEN: Should I write a book about the times when my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes have “slapped me down” at Milton Township Republican Central Committee, DuPage County Republican Central Committee, Illinois Republican Party, TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois, Wheaton Chamber of Commerce, Illinois Center Right Coalition, American Association of Political Consultants, etc. meetings and events? They would love it. They count on my keeping my policy of forgiving those who trespass against me.)
https://www.newsmax.com/premium/trump-putin-russia-sanctions/2018/07/20/id/872983/

 

COLLEGE FIX
— Professor group comes out in support of campus censorship (DIERSEN: My critics/opponents, their operative, and their dupes promote censorship. They do not want me to include links to articles in GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails, comment on those articles, or list upcoming events in those emails unless a) they direct me to do that or b) they give me specific permission to do that. Because I do not do the aforesaid and because I am a Republican Precinct Committeeman, my critics/opponents, their operative, and their dupes want the Illinois Republican Party, DuPage County Republican Central Committee, Milton Township Republican Central Committee, Republican activists, Republican candidates, Republican elected officials, Republican major donors, Republican political consultants, etc. to punish me. Of course, they also want Illinois Review, Proft publications, Capitol Fax, TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois, Wheaton Chamber of Commerce, Illinois Center Right Coalition, American Association of Political Consultants, etc. to punish me.)
https://www.thecollegefix.com/post/47074/

 

THE HILL
— Democrats get set for 2020 starting gun – REID WILSON (DIERSEN: What will the Democrats do if they cannot find a candidate who could defeat Trump in 2020?)
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/398102-dems-get-set-for-2020-starting-gun

 

NEW YORK TIMES
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Anti-Trumps say “Democrats See Openings at State Level, Thanks to Trump Resistance.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/22/us/politics/democratic-governors-midterms-trump.html
— Decade After Crisis, a $600 Trillion Derivatives Market Remains Murky to Regulators – Emily Flitter (DIERSEN: GAO audits federal financial industry regulators. In 1997, when my Democrat GAO superiors succeeded in forcing me to take their early retirement “offer,” I knew as much about derivatives as anyone at GAO. I had worked on audits involving derivatives for more than 9 years, I had earned a master’s degree in financial markets and trading from IIT in 1997, and I had become a Certified Financial Services Auditor in 1996.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/22/business/derivatives-banks-regulation-dodd-frank.html
— HARDCOPY ARTICLE TITLE: Musk and Zuckerberg Reveal Themselves and Not in a Good Way – Nellie Bowles
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/technology/musk-zuckerberg-apology.html
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Anti-Trumps demonize, denigrate, and condemn Kavanaugh.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/22/opinion/brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court.html
— What It Takes to Get an Abortion in the Most Restrictive U.S. State – AUDREY CARLSEN, ASH NGU and SARA SIMON
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/07/20/us/mississippi-abortion-restrictions.html

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Donald Trump’s Approval Rating Inches Higher, Buoyed by Republican Support In the latest WSJ/NBC News poll, the president’s job approval rose to 45% but remains among the lowest of any modern president at this point his first term – Michael C. Bender
https://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trumps-approval-rating-inches-higher-buoyed-by-republican-support-1532293201
— Trump Threatens Iran in Late-Night Tweet President warns of consequences such as ‘few throughout history have ever suffered’ – Jessica Donati
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-threatens-iran-in-late-night-tweet-1532321498
— Why I Was Wrong About Liberal-Arts Majors – David Kalt (DIERSEN: If my 1970 NIU bachelor’s degree had not been job-related, Firestone Stores would not have offered me a job in 1970 and Oldsmobile and IRS would not have offered me jobs in 1971. If my 1976 Loyola master’s degree had not been job-related, GAO would not have offered me a job in 1980.)
https://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2016/06/01/why-i-was-wrong-about-liberal-arts-majors/
— Why Sexual Harassment Can Be Tough to Fight at Small Firms An informal atmosphere and lack of human-resources infrastructure make it difficult to bring complaints – Alina Dizik
https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-sexual-harassment-is-tough-to-fight-at-small-firms-1525140600
— Uber Faces Federal Investigation Over Alleged Gender Discrimination EEOC investigators have been seeking information related to hiring practices, pay disparity and other matters – Greg Bensinger (DIERSEN: In 1971, when I was 22 years old, Oldsmobile withdrew a job offer that I had accepted saying that it had just agreed to stop hiring Whites to settle an EEOC complaint. That directly resulted in my accepting a job offer from IRS.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/uber-faces-federal-investigation-over-alleged-gender-discrimination-1531753191

 

USA TODAY
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: HARDCOPY ARTICLE TITLE: Wealthy donors set spending records Republicans lead list of midterm contributors – Fredreka Schouten and Christopher Schnaars (DIERSEN: What should Republican candidates do if/when contributors offer them lots of money if they dump the party’s traditional family, right to life, immigration, Second Amendment, and/or other planks in the Republican Party platform? What if you were running for a government office and you needed money, sign locations, etc. What if someone who had lots of money, sign locations, etc. said to you that they would give you lots of money, sign locations, etc. IF YOU GOT RID OF DIERSEN? Would you come to my defense? Would you promise to do everything that you could to get rid of me? Would you treat me like I “owe you” because you have not gotten rid of me? What would you do?)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/07/21/super-rich-step-up-their-giving-ahead-midterm-election-fight/813088002/

 

UNION LEADER
— Unions support workers – RICHARD BACKUS, New Boston (DIERSEN: IRS’s and GAO’s 40-hour work week and annual leave policies helped me to a) earn an MBA from Loyola in 1976, b) pass the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979, c) earn a master’s degree in accounting from DePaul in 1980, d) pass the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt in 1981, and e) earn a master’s degree in financial markets and trading in 1997.)
http://www.unionleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20180718/OPINION04/180719439
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Right-to-work is not what it seems. Before labor unions, factory workers toiled six days a week, 12 hours a day. They often worked alongside children as young as 5 years old. Pay was terrible; there were no health benefits or pensions. It was the unions that gave us the 5-day, 40-hour work week, pensions, and other benefits. It was the unions that gave us the shared prosperity of the 1940s and ‘50s. Since then the unions have been under attack, to the point where we have the unconscionable situation of full-time workers at Walmart needing to go on welfare. Gov. Chris Sununu is a champion of “right-to-work” legislation. And now, in Janus vs. AFCSME, the Supreme Court (with Neil Gorsuch on the bench) has said it’s okay for employees not to contribute union dues. The phrase “right-to-work” sounds innocent enough, but make no mistake, it intends to weaken unions and increase corporate profits. We now have the most unequal society since the Gilded Age of the 1890s. And Republicans, the party of the 1 percent, as the recent tax bill demonstrated, have already signaled they are coming after Medicare and Social Security. If you care about fairness, equity, and a society that works for everyone, vote accordingly in November.)

 

FEDERAL TIMES
— Democrats demand investigation into reports of politically motivated VA firings – Leo Shane III (DIERSEN: My critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes stress that except for Henry Hyde in 1989, my Republican U.S. Senators and my Republican U.S. Representatives did not come to my defense when a) my Democrat GAO superiors forced me to retire in 1997 when I was 49 years old, gave 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 an $19,203 pay cut in today’s dollars to transfer from IRS to GAO in 1980; b) my Democrat IRS superiors did not promote me beyond GS-12, disallowed my education deductions in 1978, got rid of my mentor in 1975, and disallowed my partial day per diem claims in 1974; and c) my Democrat Post Office superiors forced me resign in 1969 and disallowed my sick leave requests in 1969 and 1968.)
https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/2018/07/19/democrats-demand-investigation-into-reports-of-politically-motivated-va-firings/
— The Social Security Administration has left one of its employees on administrative leave well past the limit established in U.S. Code after that employee wrote on agency office windows in Troy, New York, to protest recent union-targeting executive orders. – Jessie Bur (DIERSEN: Constructively, my Democrat GAO superiors have had me on administrative leave since September 30, 1997.)
https://www.federaltimes.com/management/2018/07/23/ssa-violates-discipline-rules-after-employee-protests-union-crackdown/

 

ENTREPRENEUR
— SEPTEMBER 3, 2015 FLASHBACK: 17 Ways To Immediately Improve Your Website Traffic – Mike Templeman (DIERSEN: Of course, those who are members of Group A do not want me to drive traffic to their websites. But what do you say to activists, to candidates, to elected officials, to party leaders, to major donors, to political consultants, to etc. who claim to be members of Group B, but who DO NOT WANT ME TO DRIVE TRAFFIC TO THEIR WEBSITES? Maybe they are really members of Group A. Members of Group A are anti-Trump, anti-Protestant, anti-conservative, anti-patriotic, anti-Republican, anti-American, anti-White, anti-male, anti-older people, anti-rich people, anti-gun owners, anti-German Americans, and/or anti-those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time and members of Group B are Trump supporters, Protestant, conservative, patriotic, Republican, American, White, male, older people, rich people, gun owners, German Americans, and/or those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time.)
https://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/306942

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.