September 26 Morning Edition

ABC7
— West suburban school bus driver warns of CBD use after failing drug test, losing job – Chuck Goudie and Christine M Tressel (DIERSEN: How stoned, that is, how high a THC level, will employers allow their employees to be? How stoned, that is, how high a THC level, will voters allow their elected officials to be?) 
https://abc7chicago.com/health/suburban-bus-driver-warns-of-cbd-use-after-failing-drug-test-losing-job/5568430/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: But she had taken hemp oil capsules for back pain relief. She suspects that those capsules left trace amounts of THC in her system. Barton was stunned by the test results and still has trouble believing the over-the-counter product could have caused the positive reading. Many pharmacology experts aren’t surprised some people are failing drug screenings after using certain CBD products because THC can build up in your system. The compound is found in both cannabis plants: hemp and marijuana. CBD taken from hemp should have 0.3% or less of THC, the psychoactive chemical that causes a mind-altering effect. THC is among the drugs screened for by some companies. It’s not permitted for certain employees, including those who drive big rigs and school buses.)

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— High-flying marijuana vapes take hit from health scare – AP
https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-bc-us–vaping-illnesses-marijuana-industry-20190926-story.html
— Like Watergate all over again? In some ways, yes, but there are stark differences. – JON MARSHALL (DIERSEN: How has impeachment impacted you? In 1974, the Democrats who ran IRS’s Chicago office used Nixon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_process_against_Richard_Nixon) to justify their getting rid of their employees who were Republican.)
https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-opinion-impeachment-watergate-trump-20190925-rx3juqchh5f6hhm2oppqo7acby-story.html

DAILY HERALD
— Why people prefer democracy – Lee Hamilton (DIERSEN: When an elected official who represents you resigns, what do you want the process to fill the vacancy to include? I want the process to include providing lots of information about the candidates, asking the candidates lots of hard questions, and holding candidate forums.) 
https://www.dailyherald.com/discuss/20190926/why-people-prefer-democracy
(FROM THE ARTICLE: In fact, at a time of concern and, in many quarters, cynicism about democracy and its prospects, they remind us of a basic truth: people want a say in how they’re governed. As Winston Churchill put it back in 1944, “At the bottom of all the tributes paid to democracy is the little man, walking into the little booth, with a little pencil, making a little cross on a little bit of paper — no amount of rhetoric or voluminous discussion can possibly diminish the overwhelming importance of that point.”)

SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
— Despite complicated process, lots of Democrats interested in being delegates – Bernard Schoenburg
https://www.sj-r.com/opinion/20190925/bernard-schoenburg-despite-complicated-process-lots-of-democrats-interested-in-being-delegates
— Chatham nips recreational pot sales in the bud – Brenden Moore
https://www.sj-r.com/news/20190925/chatham-nips-recreational-pot-sales-in-bud

HERALD & REVIEW
— Illinois Sheriff’s Association: Decatur should opt out of cannabis sales
https://herald-review.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/illinois-sheriff-s-association-decatur-should-opt-out-of-cannabis/article_33fe0944-5a77-51d6-aa61-ddc50c299e68.html

KMOV
— Illinois law enforcement training for marijuana legalization – Alexis Zotos
https://www.kmov.com/news/illinois-law-enforcement-training-for-marijuana-legalization/article_126d11ac-e006-11e9-b76a-97e4824c038f.amp.html

FOX ILLINOIS
— DISGUSTING, TRAGIC: Danville casino could open sooner than expected – Tiffani Homer
https://foxillinois.com/news/local/danville-casino-could-open-sooner-than-expected

QUAD CITIES ONLINE
— Don’t tar wife with husband’s misdeeds – SCOTT REEDER (DIERSEN: What does being married or not being married say about you? What does who you marry say about you. What does the length of your marriage say about you? My Democrat IRS superiors, supervisors, coworkers, and subordinates were furious when I got married in 1978. They had hinted/implied/argued/shouted that I was so bad that no one would marry me. Further, they were beyond furious that she had a good job. Most of them were divorced, never married, had serious marital problems, and/or had spouses who had no income.) 
https://qconline.com/opinion/columnists/don-t-tar-wife-with-husband-s-misdeeds/article_7598c66d-4fdd-57d1-8717-1158fe017533.html

JOLIET PATCH
— Balich Won’t Run For Will County Executive After All Wednesday night’s press release urged Balich’s supporters to get behind the former Braidwood chief of police instead. – John Ferak
https://patch.com/illinois/joliet/balich-wont-run-will-county-executive-after-all

CENTER SQUARE
— Illinois residents have the fifth-highest credit card debt in the nation – Jim Moran
https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/illinois-residents-have-the-fifth-highest-credit-card-debt-in/article_27784602-dfbb-11e9-8469-93c28ab9dd0c.html

WIREPOINTS
— With Mayor Lightfoot Considering Gay Set-Asides, Chicago Is Running Short of People To Disfavor For City Contracts – Mark Glennon (DIERSEN: Ever-increasingly, the more of the following that you are, the more that Democrats, Libertarians, Greens, and RINOs disfavor you: Trump supporter, Protestant, conservative, patriotic, Republican, American, White, male, older, non-poor, gun owner, German American, draft avoider, and/or if your ancestors have been in America for a long time.)
https://wirepoints.org/with-mayor-lightfoot-considering-gay-set-asides-chicago-is-running-short-of-people-to-disfavor-for-city-contracts/

WASHINGTON TIMES
— Cindy McCain sees Arizona ‘going Democrat’ due to changing demographics, dysfunctional GOP – Andrew Blake (DIERSEN: QUESTION: Which Republicans are excluded in Illinois? ANSWER: Those who support the traditional family, right to life, immigration, Second Amendment, illegal drugs, and/or equal opportunity (no race or gender based preference giving) planks. The aforesaid planks distinguish Republicans from Democrats, Libertarians, and Greens.) 
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/sep/25/cindy-mccain-sees-arizona-going-democrat-due-to-ch/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: And number two, we have on my side of the aisle — on the Republican side — we see a local party in Arizona that’s not functioning well, and it’s excluding people,” Mrs. McCain said on Politico’s “Women Rule” podcast. “If you’re not walking the line, then you’re out. That’s just not right. That’s not the party that my husband and I belonged to.”)
— Trump court pick defends pro-life views at confirmation hearing – Alex Swoyer
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/sep/25/trump-court-pick-sarah-e-pitlyk-defends-pro-life-v/

AMERICAN THINKER
— Did Slavery Create American Prosperity? – Doug Petrikat (DIERSEN: In defense of my ancestors, they immigrated during the 1840s and 1850s from what is now Germany. They have always lived in northeast Illinois. They worked in brick factory in Chicago, operated farms in Crete and Grant Park, and operated a hardware store in Crete. My grandfather on my father’s side fought the Germans in WWI. My uncles on my mother’s side fought the Germans in WWII. My father would have fought the Germans in WWII if he had not been 4-f.)
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/09/did_slavery_create_american_prosperity.html

ACCURACY IN MEDIA
— Media Claims Trump Just Doesn’t Understand The Value of Globalism – Brian McNicoll
https://www.aim.org/aim-column/media-claims-trump-just-doesnt-understand-the-value-of-globalism/

DAILY CALLER
— Journalists React After Facebook Decided To Exempt Politicians From Fact-Checking – CHRIS WHITE
https://dailycaller.com/2019/09/25/facebook-fact-check-trump/

DAILY WIRE
— Hillary Cheers Impeachment Launch – Hank Berrien (DIERSEN: When have your critics/opponents cheered? Mine cheered when my TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois chairmanship ended, when my Wheaton Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee membership ended, when my service as a Milton Township Republican Central Committee webmaster (twice) ended, when my Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee membership ended, when my American Association of Political Consultants Midwest Chapter board membership ended, when my GAO employment ended, etc.)
https://www.dailywire.com/news/hillary-cheers-impeachment-launch-juanita-broaddrick-has-a-smash-tweet-waiting-for-her

FEDERALIST
— Democrats Asked Ukraine To Investigate Trump In 2018 – Tristan Justice
https://thefederalist.com/2019/09/25/democrats-asked-ukraine-to-investigate-trump-in-2018/
— Trump’s Tweets Are Far Less Crazy Than Today’s Democratic Party Despite our new political reality, many conservative writers and commentators will still urge Donald Trump to just stop tweeting and let these things go. – Auguste Meyrat
https://thefederalist.com/2019/09/26/trumps-tweets-are-far-less-crazy-than-todays-democratic-party/

NEWSMAX
— Pelosi’s Illegitimate Impeachment Push and Our Vanishing Republic – Peter Pry 
https://www.newsmax.com/peterpry/nancy-pelosi-impeachment-trump/2019/09/25/id/934286/

PATRIOT POST
— Majority of Americans Favor Trump’s Policy Agenda Democrats attack Trump because their policy goals aren’t winning over the American public.
https://patriotpost.us/articles/65709-majority-of-americans-favor-trumps-policy-agenda-2019-09-26

ROLL CALL
— Diversity fuels biggest population growth in country’s suburbs Shift could affect the political landscape locally and nationally – Michael Macagnone (DIERSEN: As members of Group A move into the suburbs, RINO party leaders want to dump those in the suburbs who are members of Group B. 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.)
http://www.rollcall.com/news/congress/diversity-fuels-biggest-population-growth-in-countrys-suburbs

CNN
— DIERSEN HEADLINE: A Trump-hater says “Trump’s war on journalists isn’t about journalism.”
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/09/25/reality-check-journalists-danger-trump-avlon-newday-vpx.cnn

NEW YORK TIMES
— What Polling Can Tell Us About Impeachment (and What It Can’t) Until now, it was clearly unpopular with the public. Now it’s hard to predict. – Nate Cohn
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/25/upshot/impeachment-polling-Trump.html
— Employer Health Insurance Is Increasingly Unaffordable, Study Finds A relentless rise in premiums and deductibles is putting insurance out of reach for many workers, especially those with low incomes. – Reed Abelson (DIERSEN: To promote hatred against me, my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes stress that because I am a federal retiree, my wife and I pay only $6,000/year for $24,000/year worth of health, dental, and vision insurance. In my defense, I stress that to qualify for that, I worked for the federal government for almost 30 years. Virtually none of my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes have worked for an employer for anywhere near that long. Most of my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes demonize, denigrate, and condemn wage earners.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/25/health/employer-health-insurance-cost.html

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Cost of Employer-Provided Health Coverage Passes $20,000 a Year Annual poll of employers by Kaiser Family Foundation finds premiums rose 5% for family plans; ‘It’s the cost of buying an economy car – Anna Wilde Mathews (DIERSEN: To promote hatred against me, my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes stress that because I am a federal retiree, my wife and I pay only $6,000/year for $24,000/year worth of health, dental, and vision insurance. In my defense, I stress that to qualify for that, I worked for the federal government for almost 30 years. Virtually none of my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes have worked for an employer for anywhere near that long. Most of my critics/opponents, their operatives, and their dupes demonize, denigrate, and condemn wage earners.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/cost-of-employer-provided-health-coverage-passes-20-000-a-year-11569429000
— The Senate Takes On Campus Censorship Students’ demand for ‘safety’ from ‘harm’ has begun eating away at academic freedom. – Chuck Grassley
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-senate-takes-on-campus-censorship-11569452958
— Bernie Sanders Calls for 8% Wealth Tax on Richest Americans Plan would increase federal revenue by about 10%—all from around 180,000 households – Richard Rubin
https://www.wsj.com/articles/bernie-sanders-calls-for-8-wealth-tax-on-richest-americans-11569334693
(FROM THE ARTICLE: “Enough is enough,” Mr. Sanders, a senator from Vermont, said Tuesday. “We are going to take on the billionaire class, substantially reduce wealth inequality in America and stop our democracy from turning into a corrupt oligarchy.” The tax would apply to married couples with net worth of at least $32 million and individuals with net worth of at least $16 million. The rate would start at 1% per year and rise to 8% for married couples with assets of least $10 billion. That 8% rate would mean that megabillionaires who don’t earn at least an 8% return would see their fortunes shrink, and Mr. Sanders said Tuesday that there should be no billionaires.)
— Millennials Continue to Leave Big Cities – Janet Adamy and Paul Overberg (DIERSEN: The Democrats who run Chicago make it extremely clear that they want only those who 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, anti-draft avoiders, and/or anti-those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/millennials-continue-to-leave-big-cities-11569470460
— Latino Workers Save America From Stagnation They’re the youngest U.S. ethnic cohort, growing at six times the rate of the total population. – Sol Trujillo (DIERSEN: Ever-increasingly, employers prefer hiring Latinos over Whites. If there had been as many Latinos in America when I was younger, Latinos would have been hired instead of me. I did yard work and delivered newspapers 1962-1964; washed dishes 1964-1966; cleaned golf shoes, chipped slag, and pumped gasoline in 1966; delivered mail 1966-1969; worked on an automobile assembly line and as a security guard in 1970; sold tires, automotive services, and major appliances 1970-1971; pumped gasoline 1971-1972; collected delinquent taxes 1971-1980; and audited federal agencies 1980-1997.)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/latino-workers-save-america-from-stagnation-11569453073

USA TODAY
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: DIERSEN HEADLINE: Trump-haters blame America for Guatemala’s problems. 
https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/nation/2019/09/23/immigration-issues-migrants-mexico-central-america-caravans-smuggling/2026039001/
https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/news/2019/09/23/guatemalas-western-highlands-fleeing-poverty-corruption-and-poppies/2387682001/

ITEM LIVE
— WARD 5 CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE MARVEN HYPPOLITE ENROLLS AS AN INDEPENDENT, BLASTS DEMOCRATS AND INCUMBENT DIANNA CHAKOUTIS – THOMAS GRILLO (DIERSEN: In your municipal ward/district, what percent of the voters are Trump supporters, Protestant, conservative, patriotic, Republican, American, White, male, older people, rich people, married, gun owners, German American, and/or those whose ancestors have been in America for a long time?)
https://www.itemlive.com/2019/09/25/ward-5-city-council-candidate-marven-hyppolite-enrolls-as-an-independent-blasts-democrats-and-incumbent-dianna-chakoutis/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: In Lynn, 50 percent of the 52,498 registered voters are Independent, while nearly 43 percent are Democrats, and 6 percent call themselves Republicans. The first time he ran for the seat at age 22, he was shunned by the eight-member panel, Hyppolite said. “Not a single person from the committee reached out to me and asked why I was running,” he said. “I have a valid message. The majority of the city is not being adequately represented, large segments do not vote because no one ever reaches out to them, including immigrants, and lots of young, disenfranchised residents who are never spoken to. I brought it up several times at the meetings and nothing ever changed. Even when I attended, no one ever spoke to me or made me feel welcome.”)

VETERANS ADMINISTRATION
— VA releases new findings on problem gambling
https://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/55375/va-releases-new-findings-problem-gambling/

PSYCHOLOGY TODAY
— Vets Vulnerable to Gambling Addictions – Eric Newhouse
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/invisible-wounds/201305/vets-vulnerable-gambling-addictions

PSYCH CENTRAL
— Gambling Addiction is Not Uncommon in Veterans – Bret Moore
https://pro.psychcentral.com/gambling-addiction-is-not-uncommon-in-veterans/

NORTHSTAR ALLIANCE
— Gambling Addiction and the Military
https://northstarproblemgambling.org/2018/01/gambling-addiction-and-the-military/

WORLD SOCIALIST WEBSITE
— New York Times publisher warns of a “worldwide assault on journalists” – Oscar Grenfell
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/09/26/assa-s26.html

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.