Restoring American Values
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
December 13, 2024
BIG Update
A federal court recently ruled that Congress does have the authority to force a sale of TikTok from its current owner, ByteDance. A bill that was signed into law this year would do exactly that, or else TikTok would no longer be allowed to operate in America. TikTok is Chinese malware that is installed on more than 100 million American devices, giving China access to users’ passwords, internet history, voice, fingerprint, and facial data, and more.
This court ruling is a big win for Americans’ privacy and in combatting the Chinese Communist Party. ByteDance is now up against the clock to sell TikTok by January 19 to continue operating in America. Tick tock, TikTok.
BIG Idea
28% of Gen Z hold a favorable opinion of the term “communism” compared to just 6% for Boomers and 3% for the Silent Generation. 18% of Gen Z thinks communism is a fairer system than capitalism and deserves consideration in America. 19% of Gen Z believes that dictatorship is the best political system, compared to only three percent of the Silent Generation.
This is incredibly concerning. Communism, dictatorship, and totalitarianism are completely contrarian to America’s founding principles, values, and freedoms.
Ronald Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” Seeing these statistics, you can see how his statement is true. We must fight for freedom, democracy, and capitalism to ensure our kids will grow up in a safe and free America.
I recently voted to pass the Crucial Communism Teaching Act to educate high school students on the dangers of communism and totalitarianism and to help ensure the foundational values of our nation are not abandoned.
BIG News
Over the past four years, the Biden Administration has shifted the Department of Defense’s focus from military readiness to social agendas, like DEI, Critical Race Theory, abortion, and gender transition for minors. This politically ‘woke’ culture has infiltrated our military, but this year’s annual defense package puts an end to some of those policies, like paying for gender transition treatments for youth.
The annual defense bill includes a nearly 15% pay raise for junior enlisted service members, supports our B-21 bombers, and includes my provisions to hold China accountable for unfair shipping practices, and strengthens the Second Amendment.
Passing the annual defense package is critical to strengthening our military and giving the Department of Defense the resources they need to project a strong military abroad—and stay focused on lethality. Our service members deserve the investment this bill provides, and I was proud to vote yes.
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