Illinois Review

In the heat, watch out for Illinois pavement failures ... among other things

CHICAGO - Wednesday, Governor Pritzker's administration sent out an alert for Illinois drivers to be on the lookout for pavement failures due to the July heat.

Don't worry, an IDOT video says, the $.18 per gallon gas tax hike will help pay for to Rebuild Illinois:

Six years later, New York follows Illinois to allow non-citizens drivers licenses

NEW YORK - Unhappy Illinois conservatives have found it more and more true that their Midwestern state is one of the most Liberal in the nation - following California and New York's deep Left public policies. Late last month, however, a measure that passed in New York showed Illinois out-Lefting the Empire State on issuing illegal aliens drivers licenses.

Thorner: Mark Kirk's 10th CD now a Democrat haven

By Nancy Thorner -

The 10th Congressional District of Illinois lies in the northeast corner of the state, and mostly comprises northern suburbs of Chicago. It was created after the 1860 census,  and has changed dramatically over the last 159 years. The district is currently represented by Democrat Brad Schneider.

As a resident of Lake Bluff, and a constituent of Congressman Schneider, I responded to Schneider’s announcement that a town hall meeting would be held in Lake Bluff on Saturday, July 13 in Lake Bluff's Village Hall.

I had no idea when entering the room that as a Republican conservative I would soon feel like an alien seated in a room filled with Democrats, all in step with Nancy Pelosi. Yet I should have realized that Democrat Congressman Schneider was elected as a true, blue Democrat in a seat also once held by Republicans John Porter, Mark Kirk and Robert Dold.

Gov’t Dependency Plunges Under Trump — Why Aren’t We Celebrating?

Dependency is down. John Merline writes:

As of June, there were 5.6 million more people with jobs than when President Trump took office — despite claims by prominent economists that the economy was already at full employment when he was sworn in.

The healthy labor market has resulted in something even more important yet little noticed: A sharp trend away from dependency on federal welfare and other benefits.

Take a look at the numbers:

Kinzinger and LaHood applaud $35M for rural broadband in Illinois

WASHINGTON, DC – Wednesday, Congressmen Adam Kinzinger (IL-16) and Darin LaHood (IL-18) applauded the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announcement to authorize more than $35 million for rural broadband deployment and development in Illinois.

The authorized resources from the Connect America Fund includes more than $9.3 million specifically directed to Bureau County and Stark County, which has been designated for 3,825 unserved locations according to the FCC’s recent announcement (attached as a PDF and available online here).

Rossi: America at the Razor’s Edge

By Randy Rossi -

Anybody who has studied history knows that the average life of a democracy over the last 2,600 years is only 200 years and America is already 243 years old. As Edward Gibbons, the author of "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" said, “Rome fell because of the insidious poison of free bread and circuses” which today we call welfare and free government programs or socialism.

The Forgotten Ones

From The Illinois Opportunity Project - 

There were a lot of winners and losers this session as a result of the decisions made by the political class in Springfield. Winners like the teacher’s unions who got back their end of career salary spiking to boost their pensions and more power over charter schools. AFSCME, the union representing many state workers was another big winner securing automatic pay raises even though they are already the second highest paid state workers in the country.

But what about groups that don’t have the cash to bankroll campaigns and lack the clout to be part of negotiations?

Tammy asks and its okay, just not on 2020 Census

CHICAGO - In a fundraising email last week, Illinois' junior US Senator Tammy Duckworth distributed photos of her and her 4 year old daughter at Chicago's Gay Pride Parade.

"I even brought my 4-year-old daughter, Abigail, who had a blast. I'm so glad I got the chance to show her the importance of being proud of who you are — and that diversity of all kinds is what makes our country great," Duckworth's email said.

Swing voters see AOC, Leftist newbies as "face of the party"

Portside image - Nov 2018 (Lauren Underwood bottom right of photo) 

The political website Axios grabbed hold of a poll that shows crucial swing voters identify NY Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her Squad as the Dems' most identifiable face among crucial swing voters. For the Democrats, that's scary and could seriously impact their hopes in the 2020 elections. From Axios:

Di Leo: Border Politics and the Risk to Our Nation

By John F. Di Leo - 

There is an effort being waged – by politicians, media, and pop culture figures – to convince Americans that we should feel sorry for the illegal aliens on our southern border.

Now, in one way, this is unnecessary, because we already do.   As individuals, American are famously generous and compassionate; American citizens give more to charities, both at home and abroad, than the citizens of any other country. If anything, the effort is offensive, because it gives the impression that we don’t already feel sorry for them, when we most certainly do. We don’t need to be convinced to shed tears.

Thank 32 GOP lawmakers for gas tax hike, millions in pork projects

SPRINGFIELD - The 12 Republican Senate members and 20 GOP state reps that climbed on board the Democrats' 2019 gas tax hike train would be happy if Illinois taxpayers focused their angst towards the Democrat governor, House speaker and Senate president. But despite the President's efforts to boost US fuel independence and make pump prices more bearable, Illinois lawmakers from both parties supported the 19 cent per gallon tax hike and hoped taxpayers would ignore or forget.

Thorner & O'Neil: What makes the US so special?

By Nancy Thorner & Bonnie O'Neil -

America has always prided itself on its moral values and pro-family ideals, which many believe is the reason for the success and prosperity of our nation.  

In her path-breaking book, Women of the Republic, historian Linda Kerber notes that the family was an important ideological and political institution in the founding of our nation. Kerber points to domestic gender roles, particularly the traditional role of women as models for their children's future and central to the creation of a democratic society. Through the work of historian Stephanie Cronntz, as set forth in her Historical Perspective of Family Studies, we also learn that there was never a “traditional” American family. There has been as much diversity and change in American families as there has been in most other countries’ national life.

Wheeling's political rising star Charlie Kirk leaves home

TPUSA's Charlie Kirk with VP Mike Pence earlier this year in Rosemont

WHEELING - Born and raised in north suburban Wheeling, now world-renowned political rising star Charlie Kirk announces in his hometown paper that he's officially moved to Florida. The founder of Turning Point USA writes in the Daily Herald:

This is something I have been contemplating for awhile, but a combination of family, friends, loyalty and simple inertia have held me back from making the move. The results of the 2018 elections in Illinois and the rise to power of those who believe in growing the size of government, increasing regulations and strengthening labor unions -- all at the expense of the individual, entrepreneurs and businesses -- all helped make the choice relatively straightforward for me.

In some ways, I don't feel like I'm leaving Illinois. I feel as though Illinois left me.

Where’s Weyermuller? Joining Mayor Lori Lightfoot at “Safe Haven 5k 2019” To End Veteran Homelessness

By Mark Weyermuller - 

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot made a surprise appearance on Montrose Beach Saturday. She was the official starter for the annual Safe Haven 5k to end homelessness for veterans.

Lightfoot spoke on stage before the start for several minutes with her main theme of “equality.”  Unfortunately, she did not address the major issues that most Chicago residents are concerned about, such as less crime, better schools, less taxes, stemming out migration, bringing in more private sector jobs, and fixing the city's pension mess.

Is Man-Made Climate Change a Settled Science?

There is still a strong dissenting camp to the theory that climate change is caused by the man-made greenhouse gas CO2. This camp argues that the science of climate change is far from settled.

Media coverage is overwhelmingly on one side of this debate. However, the public deserves to hear about scientific discoveries from both sides.

Here Are 6 Ways a New Report Devastates the $15 Minimum Wage

The real minimum wage is still zero. Rachel Grezler writes:

The Congressional Budget Office report estimated that a $15 minimum wage would lead to 1.3 million lost jobs by the year 2025, with job losses rising over time due to compounding negative impacts.

The exact number of job losses are highly uncertain, but the report says losses would most likely range between zero and 3.7 million, with a not-insignificant chance that losses could exceed 3.7 million. [...]

Trump Signs New Law To Protect Innocent Small Business Owners From IRS Seizures

Structuring seizures no longer threaten innocent American business owners. Nick Sibilia writes:

America’s Monopoly Crisis Hits the Military

Early this year, U.S. authorities filed criminal charges—including bank fraud, obstruction of justice, and theft of technology—against the largest maker of telecommunications equipment in the world, a Chinese giant named Huawei. Chinese dominance in telecom equipment has created a crisis among Western espionage agencies, who, fearful of Chinese spying, are attempting to prevent the spread of Huawei equipment worldwide, especially in the critical 5G next-generation mobile networking space.

Did Climate Change Load Tropical Storm Barry Up With Extra Rain?

Hurricanes cause more damage today because there is more to damage. Ronald Bailey writes:

[An article] in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Association, found that "since 1900 neither observed [continental United States] landfalling hurricane frequency nor intensity shows significant trends." Hurricanes hitting the U.S. may be getting wetter and slower, but their winds are not stronger and they are not more frequent. That said, in May the World Meteorological Organization comprehensively reviewed the scientific literature and concludedthat "it is likely that greenhouse warming will cause hurricanes in the coming century to be more intense globally and have higher rainfall rates than present-day hurricanes."

This is Why I Am Not a Socialist

I share a lot of the concerns and goals of those who describe themselves as “socialists.” More health care and housing for poor people? Great. More educational opportunities for the least well-off? Absolutely. A cleaner environment? Sure thing. Gender and racial equality? Immediately, please.

Why, then, am I not a socialist? As political and economic ideas go it’s So Hot Right Now. It’s also cross-generational as political superstars Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez refer to themselves as “democratic socialists.”

I think, though, that they are making serious mistakes. To put it simply, people too often mistake the ends for the means and define economic and political systems in terms of their advocates’ stated goals rather than the actual characteristics of those systems. With respect to a lot of the goals of the self-described socialists, there is a lot more standing between them and their vision than a failure of political will.

More HERE

GOP-controlled Indiana (to the east of Illinois) boasts $1.78 Billion budget reserve

INDIANAPOLIS - Just across the border to the east of Illinois, the state of Indiana announced this week they have a budget surplus of $42 million dollars from Fiscal Year 2017. But that's not all ... 

That's $42 million more they collected in 2017 than what they spent in 2018.

From the Northwest Indiana Times:

Pritzker Admin enlists Illinois AG to "protect" non-citizens from President Trump this weekend

CHICAGO - Illinois will stand as a "firewall" against enforcing federal immigration laws, Governor JB Pritzker said Friday - anticipating  Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities this weekend in Chicago. 

“Immigrants are an essential part of what makes this country great. In Illinois, we welcome and protect them, despite threats from President Trump,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “In the face of a coordinated attempt by the President to stoke fear, exploit division, and force families into the shadows, Illinois stands as a firewall against the president’s attacks on our immigrant communities.

Thorner: Reparations -- a traditional tax-and-spend policy, otherwise known as bribes

By Nancy Thorner - 

Reparations for slavery is the idea that some form of compensatory payment needs to be made to the descendants of Africans trafficked to and enslaved in this nation as a consequence of the Atlantic slave trade.  

In Colonial times the term “triangle trade” was used to signify three major ports of call arranged in such a way to form a triangle. It operated from the late 16th to early 19th centuries and resulted in bring African slaves to our nation. It operated in this fashion:  

• From England, textiles, rum and manufactured goods were shipped to Africa.
• From Africa, slaves were shipped to the Americas.
• From the Americas, sugar, tobacco, and cotton were shipped to England.

Was Jesus a Socialist?

Did Jesus support socialism? Do the teachings of Jesus Christ condemn the accumulation of wealth while pushing for the equal distribution of resources? Lawrence Reed, president of the Foundation for Economic Education, explains the misconceptions surrounding one of history’s greatest figures.

State Rep. McDermed will not run for re-election in 2020

MOKENA - State Rep. Margo McDermed (R-Mokena) announced Wednesday that she will not be seeking a fourth term serving the 37th District in 2020.

"It is with a heavy heart that I share the news I will not be seeking re-election next year. I'm getting older and after 30 years as a corporate lawyer, followed by 14 years as an elected official, it’s time to retire again," McDermed said in a statement on her Facebook page.

IL State Rep confronts Pritzker staff on cutting Confederate Railroad from DuQuoin Fair lineup

CHICAGO - While the Southern rock band Confederate Railroad's name and use of Confederate flag was offensive enough to cancel the band's performance at the DuQuoin State Fair next month, Snoop Dogg's album cover featuring the rap artist standing over a lifeless-appearing Donald Trump is not enough to cancel Snoop Dogg's appearance at the State Fair. 

That's what State Rep. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) reported on her Facebook page after meeting with two high-ranking members of Governor Pritzker's staff earlier this week. 

"I have been trying to sort truth from fiction in the issue of entertainment decisions at our two State Fairs. I know people are polarized on the issue, but it is always important to get facts. While in Chicago today to attend a hearing I was able to secure a meeting with two high-ranking members of Gov. Pritzker’s Exec. Staff," she wrote. "I also asked Rep. Tim Butler to join us as he represents the State fairgrounds in Springfield."

Duckworth urges donations to Kentucky Dem to oust Mitch McConnell

CHICAGO - Illinois' junior Democrat Tammy Duckworth isn't just voting with the radical Left in the US Senate, she's actively promoting a challenger to oust US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The Democrat Duckworth says she's "so excited about" is Kentucky Democrat Amy McGrath, who announced her bid Tuesday to oust McConnell in 2020.

Census Bureau Data: Non Citizens Earn $9K More Per Year Than Black Americans

According to U.S. Census Bureau data (in full below), it appears that black Americans are the most harmed by immigration.

In fact, the median income of “Non Citizens” is more than $9,000higher than black Americans. Overall, Hispanics earn nearly $10,000 more than than black Americans.

“Claims that immigration enforcement equals racism ignore the reality that the group most likely to benefit from a tougher approach to immigration enforcement is young black men, who often compete with recent immigrants for low-skilled jobs,” noted the Los Angeles Times last year.

More HERE

America's Biggest Issues: Environment

In the 1970s, Americans were told we were in a global cooling crisis and if something weren’t done, we’d enter a new ice age.

When that didn’t happen, a few decades later we were told that entire nations could be wiped off the face of the Earth by rising sea levels if the global warming trend was not reversed by the year 2000. Despite the consistent failure of these apocalyptic warnings, that hasn’t stopped climate change alarmism.

We’re now being told we only have 12 years to combat climate change and the solution is to fundamentally dismantle the system of free enterprise. That means Washington controls things like how we produce our energy, what food we eat and what type of cars we drive. The question is, even if we believed their alarmist, catastrophic predictions, would their proposals work?

The Heritage Foundation’s Nick Loris helps dispel some environmental myths, and explains how America can ensure affordable, reliable, and cleaner energy by keeping our economy growing.

Record 60 million Hispanics in US, 52% of population growth

The U.S. Hispanic population surged another 1.2 million last year and now is a record 59.9 million, according to newly released U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

The percentage of Hispanics as part of the overall U.S. population also jumped to 18%.

A Pew Research Center analysis of the new data also found that between 2008 and 2018, “Latinos accounted for about half (52%) of all U.S. population growth over this period.”

More HERE

Federal $15 Minimum Wage Would Eliminate 1.3 Million Jobs, CBO Says

Implementing a $15 federal minimum wage would result in the elimination of some 1.3 million jobs, according to a report released by the Congressional Budget Office Monday.

“About 1.3 million workers who would otherwise be employed would be jobless in an average week in 2025,” the report reads. “That decrease would account for 0.8 percent of all workers and 7 percent of directly affected workers who would otherwise earn less than $15 per hour.”

The report scores legislation introduced by Representative Bobby Scott (D., Va.) that would gradually phase in a $15 minimum wage over five years and would eliminate the minimum-wage exemption that currently applies to workers who receive tips.

More HERE

Users On Wikipedia Are Trying To Quietly Edit Out Democratic Connections In Epstein’s Bio

The sensational case surrounding billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein hasn’t just stopped at Epstein. People are turning it into a political fight due to Epstein’s habit of being connected to big political names such as Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.

As people in our society will do, when they want to learn who somebody is they’ll hit up America’s number one source of information, Wikipedia. The site is open sourced, meaning anyone can come in and make changes to a page. This can be used to update references, correct information, or in some cases, rewrite history for malicious reasons.

More HERE

6 Chicagoans killed, 69 wounded over 4th of July weekend

CHICAGO - Over the 2019 4th of July weekend, six Chicagoans were killed and 69 wounded - much worse than US gunfire casualties overseas this past weekend, but less deadly than holiday weekends in Chicago in years past.

Can Republicans win back Illinois' 6th CD?

6th CDs late Cong. Henry Hyde w/ fr. Cong. Peter Roskam | Daily Herald photo

WHEATON - The late Henry Hyde's district slipped away from former Congressman Peter Roskam and is now in the oily hands of the U.S. Congress Democrat majority, represented by freshman Sean Casten. 

Casten's 5-point win over Roskam was a part of the Democrats' anti-Trump Blue Wave that hit in 2018, leaving the DuPage County-centered 6th CD up for grabs in 2020. 

#Monday Memory: Will Co activists declare independence from Chicago corruption

WILL COUNTY - An effort to declare independence from Chicago and Cook County corrupt politics is gaining momentum throughout Illinois as more and more the state's "red" counties declare public opposition to Chicago policies.

The anti-Chicago corruption movement goes back at least seven years - starting in Will County, Illinois.

Beckman: Colleges love their Left Wing Criminals

By Hank Beckman -

In April I posted about a DePaul University publication that described an unrepentant terrorist, Oscar Lopez Rivera, as a legitimate political prisoner, as if the gang to which he was a member, the Puerto Rican separatist group FALN, was the moral equivalent of Gandhi or Martin Luther King.

If you think this was an isolated incident, an anomaly in the culture of the modern American university, you might be in for a rude awakening.

Various institutions of higher learning, some quite prestigious, have exhibited no reluctance in hiring former criminals guilty of offenses ranging from burglary to bombings to felony murder—as long as they are politically left-wing.

Thorner: Are tariffs really bad for the US economy?

By Nancy Thorner -

Tariffs were once regarded as right and necessary for this nation as protective measures necessary for economic growth. As a matter of historical fact, protectionism was the position of almost all the Founding Fathers. By the early part of the 1800s, there was not what would today be termed a “free trader” in the bunch.

The Era of the Ungrateful American

Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. I can’t fathom the ingratitude of American soccer star Meghan Rapinoe’s attitude toward America. 

Writer Warner Todd Huston notes, “Rapinoe raised eyebrows in the 2018 season by taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem even though she is playing for the U.S. Women’s National soccer team. Her taking a knee only came to an end starting in the 2019 season because the team passed a rule requiring players to stand during the anthem. But she right away said that she would never sing the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ again, nor would she place her hand over her heart because she hates America.”

Sadly, she is by no means alone. There are millions of ungrateful Americans today.

More HERE

Rep. Miller: The high tax era is over; Springfield says they mean it this time

By State Representative Chris Miller (R-Oakland) - 

Like Lucy promising to let Charlie Brown kick the football, career politicians in Springfield are again promising that this time will be the last time we have to raise taxes. We just have to "trust them…"

Pardon me, but haven’t we heard this one before?

Beckman: Herman Wouk's "The Winds of War" continues to resonate

By Hank Beckman - 

Herman Wouk died last month.

Just 10 days shy of his 104th birthday, he simply went to sleep one night and never woke up, the way we should all check out should we be blessed with such a long, productive life.

Born in New York into a religious family, Wouk was educated at Columbia University and served as a naval officer in the Pacific during the Second World War. He began his career writing jokes for radio comedian Fred Allen, but soon switched to novels, becoming one of the first popular writers to explicitly describe the everyday lives of Jewish Americans.

The man once described as “The Jackie Robinson of Jewish American fiction” gave us the classics “Marjorie Morningstar,” the story of a Jewish girl from the Bronx who dreams of stardom only to finally settle for a middle-class “normal” life; “The Caine Mutiny,” for which he won a Pulitzer Prize, a gripping narrative of an unstable ship’s captain that ends in a court marshal of the officers behind the mutiny. He also wrote non-fiction, concentrating on Judaism in “This is My God,” and “The Will to Live On,” both of which sought to describe and explain Judaism in terms of its religious, historical, and cultural significance.

But if critics and literary historians are reasonably fair, he will be best remembered for “The Winds of War,” and its sequel, “War and Remembrance,” the sweeping two-part historical romance set during the Second World War.

Under Medicare for All Plan, Many Hospitals Would Be Forced to Close—Especially in Poor, Rural Areas

Medicare for All Plan would threaten rural hospitals. Peter Suderman writes:

It’s probably an overstatement to say that every single hospital would close. But [...] under a single-payer plan paying current Medicare rates, some, and perhaps lots, almost certainly would. And many of the hospitals that stayed open would likely shed staff and services.

Medicare pays far, far less than private rates, and the higher rates from private payers is part of what keeps hospitals afloat financially. One estimate found that providers would take something like a 40 percent pay cut under the Sanders plan. And that cut would take place very quickly, as the Sanders plan calls for the elimination of most private insurance in just four years. [...]

US Air Quality Is Not Slipping, Actually Improving

On June 18, The Associated Press published a story under the byline of Seth Borenstein and Nicky Forster with the troubling headline “US Air Quality is Slipping After Years of Improvement.” While there are grains of truth in both the headline and the story that follows, there’s also a great deal of deception and ignorance in the tale Borenstein and Forster attempt to fashion.

The truth is that the changes in air quality cited are statistically insignificant, largely driven by wildfires, and do nothing to contradict claims that America’s air is as clean as it has ever been. ...

...Trump is absolutely right when he says our air is as clean as it ever has been, at least in the industrialized era. To anyone without an ax to grind and the proper skill-set to do the analysis, the data speaks for itself.

More HERE

2020 Election Meddling by China, Iran, N. Korea Likely, Administration Officials Warn

Russia isn’t the only threat to election security going into 2020, as Trump administration officials say they are preparing for meddling from Iran, China, and North Korea. 

The federal government anticipates that Russia will again meddle in the U.S. election in 2020 through “Russian-controlled or influenced English-language media, false-flag operations, or sympathetic spokespersons,” a senior intelligence official said. 

China’s government finances English-language media outlets in the United States to influence U.S. perceptions on various issues, such as trade, the senior intelligence official told reporters during a briefing on election security. 

“No surprise to you: Iran is increasing their use of social media to promote strategic goals and perspectives to the American public,” the official continued. “Its influence campaigns have included denigrating U.S. decisions to leave [the Iran nuclear deal], downplaying the effectiveness of sanctions, and promoting pro-Iranian interests.”

More HERE

New Supreme Court Ruling May Start Checking Power of Federal Bureaucrats

The Supreme Court stumbles toward doing its job. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court signaled that it was prepared to look more critically at administrative agency’s interpretations of their own rules. In Kisor v. Wilkie, a case involving Department of Veterans Affairs denials of a disability claim, the court placed new limits on a doctrine of judicial deference known as Seminole Rock/Auer. That doctrine held that courts should defer to agency interpretations of their own rules as long as those interpretations are not plainly erroneous or inconsistent with the regulation. Elizabeth Slattery writes on the decision:

Writing for the majority, Justice Elena Kagan took the “plainly erroneous or inconsistent” standard of Seminole Rock and Auer and recast it into a multi-step test instructing lower court judges whether and how to grant deference.

First, using “all the ‘traditional tools’ of construction,” a judge must determine if the applicable regulation is “genuinely ambiguous.” If there is genuine ambiguity, then the judge must consider whether the agency’s interpretation is a reasonable one.

Hawley’s Attack on Section 230 Hurts Conservatives

How not to fix social media bias against conservatives. Jeffrey Wrestling writes:

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced a bill this week to require large internet platforms like Facebook and Twitter to apply to the Federal Trade Commission for certification that their moderation practices do not favor one political party. Without such certification, the platforms would not be able to assert Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA 230) as a defense in litigation against them for defamatory or otherwise illegal user content. In other words, unless the platforms are certified, they would be liable for the content their users post. [...]

CDA 230 solves what is known as the moderator’s dilemma. Under law, platforms cannot be held liable for the content that users post on those platforms unless they knew or should have known about the content. However, by engaging in good-faith moderation efforts to limit harmful content and tailor users’ experience, platforms are construed to have knowledge of any content that they have not removed. This led to a dilemma: Platforms must either moderate users’ posts and risk being held liable for their content, or refuse to moderate at all in order to avoid liability. Congress passed CDA 230 to resolve this dilemma by stating that platforms are not publishers of user-generated content, even if they take steps to moderate the content.

Hitler Was a Mass-Murdering Socialist

Despite popular belief (according to Wikipedia and the public school system) that Adolf Hitler was a far-right conservative, he was actually a far-left socialist who used his unfettered power to suppress freedom, murder millions, and instigate the most destructive war in human history.

Hitler was the leader of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP), commonly known as the Nazi Party—the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, in English.

Hitler was unquestionably the leader (Führer) of a socialist regime. Obviously, it is not the intention of this author to equate Hitler with all socialists, or vice versa. However, almost 75 years after his death, socialism is gaining traction in the United States, making it especially pertinent to properly understand and contextualize Hitler’s demented political philosophy.

Indeed, the Nazi Party was built upon a solid socialist foundation. In 1920 (14 years before he became Führer), Hitler unveiled the National Socialist Program (NSP), a 25-point plan outlining the party’s political platform. The plan, like most Nazi propaganda, is filled with racism and other cruel rhetoric. Yet one cannot ignore that several of the 25 points articulating Nazi socialist ideology are eerily similar to policies being currently conveyed by so-called democratic socialists and other far-left progressives.

More HERE

Happy Independence Day

Di Leo: Courage and Commitment at the Continental Congress

By John F. Di Leo - 

The Declaration of Independence was written to be many things: a summary of our grievances with the King, an explanation of why we were taking up arms, an inspiration to our own citizenry, an introduction to foreign nations, a philosophical statement of what we Americans believe to be the proper relationship between a people and their government, a commitment to the Glorious Cause of liberty.

And it closed with a powerful commitment – not only on behalf of the nation as a whole, but a firm commitment by the individual signers themselves.  The final clause, right before the delegates’ signatures, read as follows:

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

Ives: On this Independence Day, boycott the Illinois gas tax. America’s founders would be proud.

By Jeanne Ives - 

In the lead up to the Declaration of Independence, the colonists used a series of boycotts to protest the British Coercive Acts which were the British response to the Boston Tea Party.

Also known as the Intolerable Acts, these acts annulled Massachusett’s charter, forced colonists to quarter British soldiers, closed the Boston harbor, and moved trials for capital crimes outside the jurisdiction they were committed in.

It wasn’t the first time the colonists had used boycott’s to rebel against British actions. Just a few years earlier the colonists boycotted the Townsend levies on imported glass, paint, lead, paper, and tea. Before both of those acts, the British passed the Sugar Act, Currency Act, Quartering Act, and Stamp Act, all of them ineffective and ignored by colonists that refused to be abide them and who were opposed to “taxation without representation"

Fast forward to 2019, Illinoisans are using the same tactic as our founding fathers and boycotting the doubling of our gas tax. Numerous news outlets have reported on Illinoisan plated vehicles filling up across state lines to save $3, $4, $5 or more on gas. In some cases, people are driving an extra 20 minutes to do so. At that point, it isn’t for the savings, it is to simply deprive the predatory state government from any extra tax. It is an intentional citizen protest. And when they go to fill-up across the border, they are also shopping for other items and denying additional sales taxes to the state of Illinois. I applaud them and so would our founding fathers.

MUST HEAR: Chicago pastor scolded by an hysterical Rep. Ilhan Omar

CHICAGO - Chicago's Pastor Latasha Fields told her story - a powerful testimony given June 19, 2019 in the US House Budget Committee and was immediately scolded by a Democrat Congress woman. 

"I wanted to reverse the plague," Pastor Fields said, and she is now leading the way for others in the Chicago area.

"You don't have to rely on government," she said. "It's something we teach our children." She and her husband learned trade skills, she told the committee. 

Her testimony was blatantly challenged by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who told Pastor Fields she can't pray her problems away.  Omar said she was appalled to hear about America's exceptionality, because America is not charitable.

A must listen-to ...