November 20 Morning Edition

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— Transit leader Kirk Dillard says CTA fare hike justified; McCarter backing Ives; Harold says as AG she wouldn’t support or oppose Trump; Mazeski gets leg up in Roskam race – Rick Pearson
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-cta-fare-hike-20171120-story.html
— Who benefits from House tax plan? – Jill Schlesinger (DIERSEN: I certainly hope that Bost, Davis, Hultgren, Kinzinger, LaHood, Roskam, and Shimkus will work hard in conference with the Senate to keep all the current itemized deductions and the personal exemption.)
https://www.pressreader.com/usa/chicago-tribune/20171120/281865823771370
— You can get a good job without a bachelor’s degree – Chauncy Lennon and Anthony P. Carnevale (DIERSEN: What did you do to qualify yourself for better paying jobs? I earned a) a job-related bachelor’s degree when I was 21 in 1970 and job-related master’s degrees when I was 27, 31, and 48, b) job-related professional certifications when I was 30, 32, 41, 45, 47, and 48, and c) a job-related professional license when I was 32.)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-degree-college-jobs-1120-20171114-story.html

 

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
— HARDCOPY ARTICLE TITLE: Black aldermen realizing strength in numbers – Laura Washington (DIERSEN: As they gain in numbers, members of the following groups realize their strength: 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 longer than their ancestors. Ever-increasingly, they realize that soon, if not already, they will have the strength to get rid of individuals, organizations, companies, governments, and countries that are Trump supporters, Protestant, conservative, patriotic, Republican, American, White, male, older, rich, gun owners, German American, and/or those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time.)
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/washington-black-aldermen-working-together-what-a-concept/

 

DAILY HERALD
— Most employers don’t think bans on asking about salary history will work – Jena McGregor (DIERSEN: For government employees, salary history is public record. Since the beginning of time, government employees have been viciously demonized, viciously denigrated, and vicious condemned as being overpaid. Many do not seek jobs with the federal government a) because the pay and benefits are terrible, b) because the advancement opportunities are terrible, c) because they lack required education, work experience, professional certifications, and/or professional licenses, d) because they cannot pass an employment examination, e) because they cannot pass a background investigation, f) because they cannot pass a physical examination, and/or g) because they cannot take the demonization, denigration, and condemnation that comes with being a government employee or a government retiree.)
http://www.dailyherald.com/business/20171119/most-employers-dont-think-bans-on-asking-about-salary-history-will-work
— Tax plan more backward than forward – Dennis Dedmond, Glen Ellyn
http://www.dailyherald.com/discuss/20171120/tax-plan-more-backward-than-forward
— #MeToo movement is heartening – Jane Cox, Wheaton
http://www.dailyherald.com/discuss/20171120/metoo-movement-is-heartening

 

PEORIA JOURNAL STAR
— House task force to review sexual harassment – Doug Finke (DIERSEN: Have you ever been a member of an organization that has been charged with sexual harassment? I have not. Ever-increasingly, anti-Trumps hint/imply/argue/shout that the more of the following that you are, the more of a sexual harasser that you are: Trump supporter, Protestant, conservative, patriotic, Republican, American, White, male, older, rich, gun owner, German American, and/or if your ancestors have been in America for a long time.)
http://www.pjstar.com/news/20171119/house-task-force-to-review-sexual-harassment

 

CHAMPAIGN/URBANA NEWS GAZETTE
— Where’s pay equity in government? – ADAM ANDRZEJEWSKI (DIERSEN: Andrzejewski should look at GAO. During the 1980s and 1990s, to hire, to retain, and to promote young Democrat women and young Democrat minorities, GAO wasted the careers of and got rid of its employees who were Republican, White, male, older, and/or non-veteran. GAO uses Affirmative Action, Diversity, Inclusion, and its “up-or-out” policy to waste the careers of and to get rid of its employees who are Republican, White, male, and/or non-veteran who GAO does not promote to GS-13 (currently $94,610) by age 25, GS-14 (currently $111,801) by age 30, GS-15 (currently $131,508) by age 35, and Senior Executive Service (currently $161,900) by age 40. IRS did the same thing while I worked for it 1971-1980 and the Post Office did the same thing while I worked for it 1966-1969.)
http://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/guest-commentary/2017-11-19/guest-commentary-wheres-pay-equity-government.html

 

CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— Trump calls on NFL to suspend Raiders’ Marshawn Lynch RB stands for Mexican anthem, sits for US anthem – MAEGAN VAZQUEZ (DIERSEN: What do you say to the many millions of citizens of Mexico who are in America? You can only be loyal to one country at a time.)
http://www.centralillinoisproud.com/sports/trump-calls-on-nfl-to-suspend-raiders-marshawn-lynch/860669614

 

WILLIAM J KELLY
— Ives Campaign Promotes Fake Steve Bannon Page Endorsement
http://www.williamjkelly.org/news/ives-campaign-promotes-fake-steve-bannon-page-endorsement

 

CHEROKEE TRIBUNE LEDGER NEWS
— State employee health insurance accounts for vast majority of Illinois’ 2017 deficit spending – Greg Bishop (DIERSEN: Needless-to-say, my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes have been beyond furious that the federal government a) paid 75% of my health insurance 1971-1997 and b) has paid 75% of my and my wife’s health, dental, and vision insurance since 1997. Currently, we pay $5,763/year and the federal government pays $17,288/year.)
http://www.tribuneledgernews.com/extra/news/state-employee-health-insurance-accounts-for-vast-majority-of-illinois/article_edfc1eb1-a77d-5fcd-a0bf-38fd313420a6.html

 

CAPITOL FAX
— Local 150 and Dan Proft: The enemy of my enemy is my friend
https://capitolfax.com/2017/11/20/local-150-and-dan-proft-the-enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend/
— Southern publishes scathing editorial on “bizarre” Rauner press conference
https://capitolfax.com/2017/11/20/southern-publishes-scathing-editorial-on-bizarre-rauner-press-conference/

 

BLAZE
— Jeff Flake predicts what will happen if the GOP becomes defined by Donald Trump & Roy Moore – Chris Enloe (DIERSEN: One could say that the Illinois Republican Party (IRP) is defined by Rauner and a) NOT by the IRP platform, b) NOT by the IRP State Central Committee members, c) NOT by the IRP county party chairmen, d) NOT by the IRP township/ward party chairmen, and e) certainly NOT by the IRP precinct committeemen.)
http://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/11/19/jeff-flake-predicts-what-will-happen-if-the-gop-becomes-defined-by-donald-trump-roy-moore

 

THE HILL
— Sasse: Republican Party ‘unpersuasive’ and vulnerable – BRETT SAMUELS (DIERSEN: The Republican Party, Illinois Republican Party (IRP), DuPage County Republican Central Committee (DCRCC), and Milton Township Republican Central Committee (MTRCC) are headed for oblivion if they do not stop letting people hold leadership positions who reject planks in Republican Party platform and the IRP platform. Most commonly, they reject the traditional family, right to life, immigration, illegal drugs, and/or equal opportunity (no race or gender based preference giving) planks. These “the platform is the problem” leaders are Democrat Party plants, Libertarian Party plants, or Green Party plants who a) focus on getting rid of those like me who support the aforesaid planks and b) focus on destroying the Republican Party, DCRCC, and MTRCC. Political parties exist to help elect candidates who can and will defend and advance their platform.)
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/361111-sasse-republican-party-unpersuasive-and-vulnerable
— On Capitol Hill, few name names on sexual harassment – CRISTINA MARCOS
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/361128-on-capitol-hill-few-name-names-on-sexual-harassment?rnd=1511153211

 

POLITICO
— Alabama newspaper chain calls for voters to reject Moore in front-page editorial (DIERSEN: Who calls for others to reject you? I should write a book about activists, candidates, elected officials, party leaders, major donors, political consultants, defendants in lawsuits that I have filed, etc. in Wheaton, in Glen Ellyn, in Milton Township, in DuPage County, and in Illinois who call for everyone to reject me and my GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails. They crow that I am no longer the TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois chairman, a Wheaton Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee member, the Milton Township Republican Central Committee webmaster, an Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee member, an American Association of Political Consultants Midwest Chapter board member, a GAO employee, etc.)
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2017/11/19/alabama-newspaper-chain-calls-for-voters-to-reject-moore-in-front-page-editorial-boston-globe-goes-to-new-zealand-to-catch-up-with-scott-brown-palm-beach-prepares-for-trump-sasse-in-iowa-sunday-best-224833

 

NEW YORK TIMES
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: What do you say to men who demonize, denigrate, and condemn other men to curry favor with those who are anti-men, anti-Trump, anti-Protestant, anti-conservative, anti-patriotic, anti-Republican, anti-American, anti-White, anti-older people, anti-rich people, anti-gun owners, anti-German Americans, and/or anti-those whose ancestors have been in America longer than their ancestors?
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/19/opinion/sexual-harassment-men-.html
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: HARDCOPY ARTICLE TITLE: A One-Mab Legal Factory Fights Harvard Over Affirmative Action – Anemona Hartocollis (DIERSEN: What if during the 1980s and 1990s, Blum had represented GAO’s White male employees who GAO had not promoted to GS-13 (currently $94,610) by age 25, GS-14 (currently $111,801) by age 30, GS-15 (currently $131,508) by age 35, and Senior Executive Service (currently $161,900) by age 40?)
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/19/us/affirmative-action-lawsuits.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: A former mayor of Poway, a small city in Southern California, wrote a column in August in his local newspaper with this headline: “A gun to my head.” He was upset about how a state law had forced Poway to redo its voting districts so Latinos would have a better chance of winning elections. Reading the piece on his computer 3,000 miles away, Edward Blum knew he had found his newest case. Seeing one of his bêtes noires — racial gerrymandering — at work, Mr. Blum recruited the former mayor, Don Higginson, as a plaintiff, and on Oct. 4 filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the California Voting Rights Act. Mr. Blum is not a lawyer. But he is a one-man legal factory with a growing record of finding plaintiffs who match his causes, winning big victories and trying above all to erase racial preferences from American life. Mr. Blum, 65, has orchestrated more than two dozen lawsuits challenging affirmative action practices and voting rights laws across the country. He is behind two of the biggest such cases to reach the Supreme Court: one attacking consideration of race in admissions at the University of Texas, which he lost; the other contesting parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, widely considered one of this country’s most important pieces of civil rights legislation, which he won. Now, in his most high-profile cause of the moment, he has asserted that Harvard University’s affirmative action policies amount to an illegal quota system that denies high-achieving Asian-American students admission in numbers commensurate with their qualifications. He has already forced Harvard to turn over, under court seal, years of highly sensitive data about demographics, test scores and even some personal essays, and he now has a powerful ally in the Justice Department, which is looking into a similar complaint. Mr. Blum said he was acting on a pure principle — that people should never be judged by the color of their skin.)
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: HARDCOPY ARTICLE TITLE: Subsidies Keep Many Insured, And Satisfied – Kate Zernike and Abby Goodnough (DIERSEN: Needless-to-say, my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes have been beyond furious that the federal government a) paid 75% of my health insurance 1971-1997 and b) has paid 75% of my and my wife’s health, dental, and vision insurance since 1997. Currently, we pay $5,763/year and the federal government pays $17,288/year.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/19/health/tax-plan-obamacare-mandate.html

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Key GOP Senator Susan Collins Cites Concerns Over Senate Tax Bill Raising pressure on party leadership to make changes to secure passage – Harriet Torry and Gabriel T. Rubin (DIERSEN: I certainly hope that Bost, Davis, Hultgren, Kinzinger, LaHood, Roskam, and Shimkus will work hard in conference with the Senate to keep all the current itemized deductions and the personal exemption.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/key-gop-senator-cites-concerns-over-senate-tax-bill-1511113253
— GOP Faces Pressure to Slow Tax Bill’s Progress in Senate
https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2017/11/20/capital-journal-160/
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Ever-increasingly, pot pushers push pot to “Alleviate the Opioid Crisis.” If you push pot, you push destruction.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/can-marijuana-alleviate-the-opioid-crisis-1511104543
— What Will Tax Reform Do for Puppies? The IRS shouldn’t favor Child Moms over Dog Moms. – Adam O’Neal (DIERSEN: If I sought a government office or political office or any kind of job, my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes would a) shout that my wife and I have ever owned a dog and b) shout that we gave up trying to have children, we did not adopt, and we did not become foster parents.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-will-tax-reform-do-for-puppies-1511071482
(FROM THE ARTICLE: As tax reform snakes its way through the legislative process, it’s becoming clear that one critical group could come out behind: dog families. This inequity must be remedied. I suggest Republicans cancel their proposed Child Tax Credit expansion and instead offer a fully refundable Canine Tax Credit worth at least $500 a dog. Congress is preparing to maybe even double the Child Tax Credit. But what about couples who opted for dogs instead of children? Or those who are preparing for parenthood by taking on a cuddly critter for a couple of years? It’s as if the Child Tax Credit’s biggest boosters are stuck in 1997, when Congress first approved the handout. I hate millennials as much as any op-ed writer, but conservatives need their support to keep tax reform viable. And millennials love pets. Forty-four percent see Fluffy as practice for real offspring. Why privilege Child Moms over Dog Moms? No one is dumb enough to believe that small subsidies for having children encourage more births. Imagine telling your other half, “Sweetheart, I’m ready for another child. Let’s just wait until we can deduct an extra $600.” While some finance-conscious Wall Street Journal readers might not find that absurd, America’s declining birth rate suggests few outside our rarefied readership agree. The Child Tax Credit instead exists to transfer wealth to a preferred group (human families) from an undesirable one (childless superconsumers). No doubt a child’s life is infinitely more precious than a dog’s, but a puppy’s owner deserves economic security as much as a human parent. Maybe subsidizing only families with small humans made sense 20 years ago, but preferences change. Republicans must ask themselves: What do we really have to offer a farmer in Fargo with four French Spaniels? Expanding the Child Tax Credit might excite a few Senate staffers or think-tank fundraisers. But today there are about 90 million dogs in the U.S., spread over some 60 million households, according to the American Pet Products Association. Millions more languish in shelters, as economically insecure Americans hesitate to adopt. Two-thirds of pet owners consider their animals “part of the family,” data from Mintel shows. That’s probably why Americans, who spent nearly $67 billion on their pets in 2016, want relief. The Canine Tax Credit would do more than pad the bank accounts of dog owners. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says having a pet can help decrease blood pressure, cholesterol and feelings of loneliness. Perhaps the Congressional Budget Office could work lowered medical costs into its score? If the Canine Tax Credit passes, loyal voters could finally point to a material benefit provided by the GOP. There’s only one problem: Democrats, always eager to one-up Republican giveaways, could counter with a Feline Tax Credit. Maybe they’d include ferrets too, Rudy Giuliani be damned. Democrats could even target the millions of families with turtles, rabbits, horses, lizards and tarantulas. It’s almost as if it’d be easier just to eliminate all the exemptions and credits and cut tax rates accordingly.)

 

USA TODAY
— Vacations for retirees on a budget – Larry Bleiberg (DIERSEN: Vacations are expensive. Your GOPUSA Illinois Editor and his wife are not planning any kind of vacation. My $50,856/year pension is only 41% of the $122,991/year salary that I earned in 1997 in today’s dollars. Because my Democrat GAO superiors succeeded in forcing me to take their early retirement “offer” in 1997 when I was 49 years old, we have at least $72,135 less each year or $6,011 less each month or $1,387 less each week or $198 less each day to spend on vacations. I went on vacations in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1977. My wife and I went on many vacations, typically four each year, 1978-1992 in connection with her business trips to luxury resorts all across America. Of course, my Democrat IRS and GAO superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates were beyond furious about that.)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2017/11/20/vacations-retirees-budget/853649001/
— Senators make bipartisan breakthrough on background check bill – Nicole Gaudiano (DIERSEN: Many millions have not and will not seek a job with the federal government a) because they cannot pass a background check, b) because the pay and benefits are terrible, c) because the advancement opportunities are terrible, d) because they lack required education, work experience, professional certifications, and/or professional licenses, e) because they cannot pass an employment examination, f) because they cannot pass a physical examination, g) because they cannot take the demonization, denigration, and condemnation that comes with being a federal employee or federal retiree, and/or h) because they are Republican, White, male, older, and/or non-veteran and they know that the federal government discriminates against the aforesaid.)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/11/16/senators-make-bipartisan-breakthrough-background-check-bill/869906001/

 

CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
— Yes, You Have Implicit Biases, Too – David Gooblar (DIERSEN: Ever-increasingly, anti-Trumps promote hatred of individuals, organizations, companies, governments, and countries that are Trump supporters, Protestant, conservative, patriotic, Republican, American, White, male, older, rich, gun owners, German American, and/or those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time.)
http://www.chronicle.com/article/Yes-You-Have-Implicit-Biases/241797

 

FORBES
— Illinois Government’s Gender Hypocrisy Gap – Adam Andrzejewski (DIERSEN: What would Andrzejewski say to my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes who hint/imply/argue/shout a) that GAO’s Chicago office hired me in 1980, promoted me in 1986, and let me work there until 1997 BECAUSE IT DISCRIMINATES AGAINST WOMEN, b) that IRS’s Chicago office hired me in 1971, promoted me in 1972, 1973, and 1974, and let me work there until 1980 BECAUSE IT DISCRIMINATES AGAINST WOMEN, and c) that the Park Forest Post Office hired me in 1966 and let me work there until 1969 BECAUSE IT DISCRIMINATES AGAINST WOMEN?)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2017/11/20/illinois-governments-gender-hypocrisy-gap/#154c8a60350e
— Why Indian Americans Were Among The Biggest Winners In The U.S. State & Local Elections – Ronak D. Desai
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ronakdesai/2017/11/19/why-indian-americans-were-among-the-biggest-winners-in-the-u-s-state-local-elections/#232c94a75f02

 

CATO
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: Ever-increasingly, CATO makes it clear that it is 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 longer than their ancestors.)
https://www.cato.org/blog/border-patrol-checkpoints-do-not-work-end-them

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.