Dear Patriots,

Let us be the first to wish you a joyful Christmas Season!

While you are out preparing for the celebration of the birth of Christ, here is some good news you need to know and share!

1- This is another reason having strong Republican states is so important.

Daily Wire 

Florida Pulling $2 Billion From BlackRock As Company Pushes ‘Social-Engineering’ With Taxpayer Dollars

QUOTE: The state of Florida will divest $2 billion from BlackRock due to the asset management company’s efforts to advance the environmental, social, and governance movement, also known as ESG.

Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis announced that the Florida Treasury “will be taking its business elsewhere” for $1.4 billion worth of long-term securities and $600 million worth of short-term overnight investments by the beginning of next year. The official contended that the mission to “change the world” promoted by BlackRock CEO Larry Fink exposes the state’s resources to risks.

The divestment appears to be the largest such effort among the other Republican state governments, which have recently pulled funds from prominent asset managers over concerns that the companies’ voting priorities, such as pressuring portfolio companies to transition away from fossil fuels, constitute the mismanagement of public assets. In addition to divestments from South Carolina, Louisiana, Missouri, West Virginia, and Utah, the government of Texas said that BlackRock and nine other firms had violated state law by “refusing to deal with” companies involved in the production and use of fossil fuels “without an ordinary business purpose.”

As macroeconomic headwinds persist, BlackRock is far from the only entity to suffer from ESG investments, which have underperformed over the past year largely due to overexposure to the technology sector and wholesale avoidance of fossil fuel investments. Harvard Management Company, which oversees the elite university’s endowment, reported a $2.3 billion loss in the most recent fiscal year and admitted that efforts to achieve net zero emissions through oil and gas divestment “weighed upon performance,” even though the organization remains “proud to be deeply engaged in the issue of sustainability.”

2- Tik Tok is a damaging, dangerous and intrusive application that should be banned by the nation. Until then we will have to be happy that a Republican Governor has gone this far.

Just The News 

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem bans TikTok on state devices

QUOTE: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem called the social media app TikTok a national security threat Tuesday and banned it from all state devices.

“South Dakota will have no part in the intelligence gathering operations of nations who hate us,” Noem said in a news release. “The Chinese Communist Party uses information that it gathers on TikTok to manipulate the American people, and they gather data off the devices that access the platform.”

Noem’s executive order goes into effect immediately.
“I hope other states will follow South Dakota’s lead, and Congress should take broader action, as well,” Noem said .

Several members of Congress have called for a TikTok ban.

Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., is co-sponsoring legislation calling for a nationwide ban with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

“TikTok is owned by ByteDance. ByteDance is controlled by the CCP. That means the CCP can track your location,’ Gallagher said. “It can track your keystrokes. It can censor your news. Why would we give our foremost adversary that amount of power?”

3- This sounds great, doesn’t it?   Good luck, Senator Scott! We will believe it when we see it.

DCEnquirer 

Rick Scott Pledges That A “New Wave” Of Republican Patriots Will Stand Up to Biden’s Destructive Agenda

QUOTE: Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) pledged to change America for the better during a Tuesday op-ed for the Washington Examiner titled “Washington liars will not stop us from rescuing America”

The Senator began his column by focusing on Joe Biden’s attack on his “Rescue America” plan. Biden attacked Scott’s plan on a number of fronts — including the plan’s position on taxation and social security.

“Earlier this year, I released a plan with more than 100 ideas for how Republicans can govern and rescue America from President Joe Biden’s radical, socialist agenda that has done nothing but destroy our country with debt, record inflation, and massive crime. The Democrats immediately lost their minds,” Scott began.

Scott then opined that Republicans need to once again be the party of great ideas — for that alone will compel Americans to trust the GOP’s leadership.  Scott ended by assuring voters a new era of Republican governance has begun — one focused on a positive vision for the future of America.

4- Some of our staffers have purchased this book series for their grandchildren and can attest to the very high quality of the material. It is nice to know you are exposing children to reliable history.  Here is a review of the series and the link to the website for ordering.

The Federalist 

Heroes of Liberty

Give The Gift Of True American History With These Wonderful Biographies For Children

QUOTE: ….the Heroes of Liberty editors are clearly not interested in replacing leftist propaganda in children’s history with conservative propaganda. The series does no propagandizing, as I (perhaps foolishly) worried given its affiliation with conservative personalities. The books instead simply state true and compelling facts in an easy-to-follow story form and let the truth speak for itself.

It’s refreshing as a parent to be able to trust the writers and publishers of a book so I don’t have to pre-read, scrutinize, and pre-emptively guard my children’s minds from those who seek to prey upon them with popular lies. It’s refreshing to learn facts about my beloved country and its wonderful people that celebrate the human spirit and especially its peculiar American expressions. It’s refreshing to let my guard down and just enjoy reading about American history with my children from a trustworthy source that isn’t trying to push us in any direction politically, but just to tell true human stories of our ancestors and their dreams, failures, and achievements.

5- In a week that saw the degradation of children in the Balenciaga ads, it is wonderful to see Chevrolet reflect a better message.

Western Journalism 

Chevy Totally Rejects Wokeness, Rolls Out Beautiful New All-American Christmas Commercial Starring ’57 Bel Air

U.S. automaker Chevrolet has rolled out another moving Christmas ad spotlighting the enduring conservative values of neighborly collegiality, family unity and patriotism.

QUOTE: The 60-second commercial spot called “Mrs. Hayes” opens with an elderly widow struggling to start her 1957 Chevy Bel Air  Nomad in a parking lot.

Steve Majoros, the vice president of marketing for Chevrolet, said the commercial was a way to send a “holiday card to America” instead of merely flooding the airwaves with seasonal sales ads. “Nearly everyone has a Chevrolet story, and we feel fortunate to have genuine connections with so many,” Majoros said in a statement, according to The Drum. “We call this our holiday card to America.”

This is the second Christmas season in a row that Chevy has spotlighted conservative values instead of pushing woke, left-wing propaganda, as many corporations do nowadays. Majoros said this year’s ad was inspired by last year’s viral Chevy commercial.

As crushing inflation, terrifying crime spikes and threats of another world war loom over this holiday season, it’s important to remember that the United States has overcome far greater challenges than the ones it’s currently grappling with. However, we need to keep fighting for what makes America great.

Speaking of Christmas, be sure to check out the Sidneys’ Defending the Republic store for all sorts of patriot gift giving ideas.

Pray. Know. Share.

Hold Fast,

Defending The Republic