February 16 marks 95 years since Lithuania gained her independence.
You might be asking yourselves, “what is Lithuania? Is it a made-up country?” Despite boasting an exotic name, Lithuania is a real country with a rich history.
From February 16, 1918, until August 23, 1939, Lithuania enjoyed freedom and prosperity until the Soviet Union grabbed hold of it through the so-called German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (Molotov-Robbentrop Act). From 1939 until March 11, 1990 (reunification), Lithuania was subjected to endless bloodshed, tyranny, and death under Lenin, Stalin, and other brutal dictators. Religious and/or ethnic persecution of Jews, Catholics, Christians, Lithuanians, Russians, Poles, and those who didn’t agree with Soviet communism was witnessed. The horror exhibited under Soviet occupation is inexcusable and should be rightly condemned. (I would know – my family personally suffered.) Nevertheless, it’s important to remember that many Lithuanians craved freedom and were determined to depose the Soviet Union.
Regarded as the land of “beer, babes, and basketball” to tourists, Lietuva (Lithuanian for “rainy country”) is an untapped treasure in Eastern Europe. Castles, sandy beaches, forests prime for mushroom hunting, and amber jewelry are yet to be discovered by most.
Vilnius, capital of Lithuania
Lithuanian amber
Svyturys, Lithuanian beer
If you’re looking for a unique place to visit this year, make Lithuania your top 2013 destination. Just don’t plan to bring a mail-order bride back with you.
Lithuania was the first Baltic Republic to declare its independence from the USSR on March 11, 1990. The rebelliousness that fueled this has inspired many to speak out against collectivism and tyranny.
Our fellow Americans should look to people like my parents and others who’ve escaped here to better appreciate the freedoms afforded to them here in the United States.
The 113th Congress was sworn in this past week. Divided government still dominates in the nation’s capital (Democrats still control the presidency and the U.S. Senate), and President Obama promises to be more partisan and equally tyrannical in his second term. Nevertheless, my generation should look forward to the addition of Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) to the 113th Congress.
Cruz, a conservative champion and fearless defender of the Constitution, promises to be a much-needed conservative voice in the U.S. Senate. With Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) resigning to assume Ed Feulner’s post at Heritage Foundation, Cruz will likely take over DeMint’s role as the stalwart conservative voice in this respective chamber.
Earlier this morning on Fox News Sunday Cruz said, “I don’t think what Washington needs is more compromise. I think what Washington needs is more common sense and more principle.”
He also criticized the nomination of former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to the Secretary of Defense post citing his long-track record of being anti-Israel and being a detriment to healthy U.S.-Israel relations.
If you haven’t watched the entire interview, you can view it below.
A few days earlier, Senator Cruz published a column in the Washington Post urging Republicans to promote “opportunity conservatism.”
He writes, “So let me suggest an alternative course: opportunity conservatism. Republicans should conceptualize and articulate every domestic policy with a single-minded focus on easing the ascent up the economic ladder.”
Cruz adds, “That does not mean adopting the wealth-redistribution policies of the left. Among other problems, collectivist approaches to our economy simply do not work. They fail to produce economic prosperity or to improve the material conditions of the populace. And they lead to bankruptcy and economic collapse, as Europe demonstrates daily.”
And then he finishes with this point: “Why do millions of people from all over the world come to the United States? Because no other nation has offered such opportunity. Nowhere else can so many come with nothing and achieve anything.”
Senator Ted Cruz understands the problems that my generation faces. As a first-generation American born to a Cuban father, Cruz notions that freedom and prosperity-not welfare and government handouts-best uplift people.
As a young person, I’m largely drawn to Ted Cruz and his conservatism because like him, I’m also a first-generation American born to immigrant parents. (My parents are from the Baltic Republic of Lithuania. They escaped from it before the USSR collapsed.) Additionally, Cruz knows how to articulate conservatism and win arguments by clearly stating the problems we face and how to solve them. If young people are looking for a serious leader, then Ted Cruz is the right guy to confide in.
Welcome to Washington, D.C., Senator Cruz! My generation is counting on you.
I hope all of you are enjoying the holiday season with Chanukah, Christmas, and New Year’s celebrations. As we say goodbye to 2012 and hello to 2013, I offer you my final blog post of the year.
This year will go down in history as one of the most eventful years to date. Somehow President Obama – arguably one of the most corrupt and dangerous presidents in American history – clinched a second term in November. SCOTUS ruled the individual mandate provision in Obamacare constitutional as a tax. Shockingly, but not surprisingly, Mitt Romney lost the election. Our side witnessed devastating losses in U.S. Senate contests, as well. Unemployment rose. The country cared more about birth control politics than preserving free enterprise this election year. And the list goes on and on.
2012 was not a good year for America. Don’t kid yourselves if you think higher taxes, the implementation of Obamacare, and other policies ushered in by this administration are going to benefit us. They’ll incur more harm than good.
If you want to be encouraged for the battle ahead, check out Rebooting America founder Justen Charters in his viral “Six Trillion Dollar Man” music video for ChristinePAC. Share it with your friends and family.
Although there’s much to complain about 2012 and the consequences surrounding Obama’s re-election, I recognize that much good came out of this year. I graduated from UCSD with a B.A. in Political Science on the three-year track in June. Shortly afterward I moved from Southern California to Northern Virginia to intern at the Media Research Center’s CNSNews division. I then got hired to work for the Leadership Institute as the Northeast Regional Field Coordinator, which has been a great experience thus far. Working with conservative students is fun, hard work, and great. I’m also grateful for wonderful co-workers, and find myself incredibly happy with the work I’m doing. I’m very blessed for gainful employment!
I was also graced with many opportunities in 2012. I was a youth speaker at several conferences, appeared on many radio shows, and continued to write for various conservative media outlets. I befriended and strengthened friendships with great people and fellow young conservative activists. I met many people who I look up to including Michelle Malkin, Ken Cuccinelli, Mark Levin, Dana Loesch, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), and incoming U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), to name a few. I got to explore this country more and ventured to Texas, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Massachusetts for the first time. FreePAC Dallas was a blast, and my various trips to the Northeast to meet with students were equally worthwhile. I also co-founded another youth movement – Resistance 44- with my good friend Justen Charters and gauged young people with our conservative message.
2012 wouldn’t be complete if it weren’t for my family, friends, and fellow activists. Thank you for keeping my spirits up. I’m thankful for all of you and your continual support!
Despite impending tax hikes on all Americans come January 1st (thank you, President Obama and Congress), Americans should look forward to 2013.
-Pro-life? Attend 40th Annual March for Life event. The march will be taking place on January 25, 2013 in downtown Washington, D.C.
-If you live here in the Commonwealth of Virginia, you have the opportunity to help pivot our state red and elect Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli as our next governor. Outside support is also appreciated. This is the first and most important electoral contest our side must win. (Visit Cuccinelli’s website, sign up to be a campaign volunteer, and donate money to his campaign.)
-Get involved with the National School Choice Week movement. Next year’s event takes place during the week of January 27, 2013 – February 2, 2013. This is how we outreach to people.
-Defend free enterprise and make the moral case for it. Don’t support higher taxes.
-Champion family values and undermine the welfare society.
-And most of all breathe, exercise, eat healthy, travel the country, be frugal, surround yourself with good people, and don’t succumb to pressure. Take the occasional break from politics and your electronics to enjoy the world around you.
What will I be up to in 2013? Here’s what you can expect from me:
Speaking engagements: I’m scheduled to speak at a CUFI on Campus’ SALT conference panel on student activism in San Antonio, TX on January 3, 2013, which is followed by my participation in “The Cheated Generation” panel at Maryland Conservative Action Network’s Turning the Tides conference on January 12, 2013 in Annapolis, MD. More appearances are likely throughout the year.
Look out for an e-book featuring yours truly: I, along with other young conservatives, wrote a chapter for an e-book slated for release in March 2013.
National appearance: Can’t reveal this yet, but you’ll be seeing me on the national stage in mid-to-late January.
Blogging: I’ll continue blogging for CNSNews.com, Counter Cultured, Right Wing News, and make my debut on The Blaze. Some other opportunities might come up. I’ll keep you posted.
Work: Work is my first priority, so it’ll come first before outside activities. Nevertheless, I’ll be documenting my travels, crazy professors, and leftist abuses in the Northeast if anything comes up. If you’re a student in the Northeast looking to be active on campus, please contact me here.
Rebooting America: I’ll be more involved. You should join the movement too.
Twitter: Follow my musings and tweets @Gabby_Hoffman.
L’chaim and cheers to a happy, healthy, and productive 2013!
As a member to YAF, I am grateful to work in defense of conservative values best proscribed by William F. Buckley, Jr, father of the modern-day Conservative Movement. Be sure to read it and embrace this message in its entirety!
“Adopted in Conference, at Sharon, Connecticut, on September 11, 1960.”
IN THIS TIME of moral and political crises, it is the responsibility of the youth of America to affirm certain eternal truths.
WE, as young conservatives believe:
THAT foremost among the transcendent values is the individual’s use of his God-given free will, whence derives his right to be free from the restrictions of arbitrary force;
THAT liberty is indivisible, and that political freedom cannot long exist without economic freedom;
THAT the purpose of government is to protect those freedoms through the preservation of internal order, the provision of national defense, and the administration of justice;
THAT when government ventures beyond these rightful functions, it accumulates power, which tends to diminish order and liberty;
THAT the Constitution of the United States is the best arrangement yet devised for empowering government to fulfill its proper role, while restraining it from the concentration and abuse of power;
THAT the genius of the Constitution – the division of powers – is summed up in the clause that reserves primacy to the several states, or to the people in those spheres not specifically delegated to the Federal government;
THAT the market economy, allocating resources by the free play of supply and demand, is the single economic system compatible with the requirements of personal freedom and constitutional government, and that it is at the same time the most productive supplier of human needs;
THAT when government interferes with the work of the market economy, it tends to reduce the moral and physical strength of the nation, that when it takes from one to bestow on another, it diminishes the incentive of the first, the integrity of the second, and the moral autonomy of both;
THAT we will be free only so long as the national sovereignty of the United States is secure; that history shows periods of freedom are rare, and can exist only when free citizens concertedly defend their rights against all enemies…
THAT the forces of international Communism are, at present, the greatest single threat to these liberties;
THAT the United States should stress victory over, rather than coexistence with this menace; and
THAT American foreign policy must be judged by this criterion: does it serve the just interests of the United States?
Many Americans have awoken from a deep slumber to realize that something fundamentally wrong is playing out in this great nation. Of course, the largest threat comes from this administration’s obvious attempts to transform our country into a socialist one by nationalizing banks and car companies, weakening the country’s security by investigating the C.I.A. unfairly, incriminating American servicemen and veterans, indoctrinating the youth to supporting the president’s agenda, and destroying the constitutional underpinnings in which our country was founded. The double standard commonplace in liberalism espouses two sets of rules in respect to the First Amendment: one for them, one for the rest of us.Whatever liberals support is the best and correct opinion to cling to, while whatever their political opponents decry is shameful, derogatory or downright wrong.
Because of these fundamental changes conservatives, Republicans, and Americans alike are discontented with what is occurring in regard to the First Amendment.Sure, they sincerely believe that it is wrong that liberals can denounce their political opponents and simply get away with it in respect to expression, and vice versa. Yet, they often do not understand its underlying factor of why it persists, and have accordingly failed to understand it. Renowned ambulance chaser and former vice presidential candidate John Edwards (D-NC), the “true embodiment” of a politician, had a point when he retorted the fact that there are “two Americas.” Although his fabrication of two Americas elucidated a “one rich, one poor” mantra, he was admittedly right about a truly divided America, just one he failed to acknowledge.
Liberals, in accordance with their principle of “equality of results,” chastise the premises of the first amendment allowing no opposition or room for debate; in other words, the method to their madness is to control every sector in society.
Using their freedom of speech, Americans can voice their opinions and criticize the government through expression, symbolism, and nonverbal communication. Although raucus, the peaceful health care town hall debates and tea parties have been heavily criticized by our liberal counterparts for being “abusive” to free speech. As the ‘brilliant’ Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi put it, “These disruptions are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views — but of the facts themselves. Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American.” The double standard once again settles in. Last time I checked, this Administration and its cronies have led a full-fledged fight to limit opposition to its agenda, even going so far as to encourage its supporters to report “the opposition” by tipping the White House at flag@whitehouse.gov. Free speech is only free for liberals, not conservatives.
Now, freedom of petition and freedom of assembly are at stake. As anyone would have learned from a high school US history class, this clause stresses citizens’ right to assemble peacefully, to hold rallies and demonstrations, and to petition the government for changes in policy. The tea parties and healthcare town hall meetings, which were peacefully mobilized by ordinary, concerned American citizens, have been libelously tarnished as “hate-mongering” bodies, or merely as not credible and thus “Astroturf.” At the same time protests spearheaded by extreme liberal proponents like Code Pink or ACORN are emblematic examples of “peaceful protest.”
Freedom of the press is also under attack. With prospective plans to resurrect the Fairness Doctrine, as Federal Communications Commission diversity advisor Mark Lloyd intends to do, “the left is attempting to tight[en] its grip on the news, possibly asphyxiating the few bastions of center-right news and information that exist…the doctrine required that networks and broadcast radio stations air opposing views that satisfied federal bureaucrats’ conception of ‘fairness.’” That would mean that the largest generators of radio listeners like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Mark Levin will be shut down and replaced by liberal radio hosts and by those who meet the “qualifications” of the FCC.
Freedom of religion is always a sensitive issue, a fact which the 1st amendment’s free exercise and establishment clauses have brought into light. Every now and then, we hear that our nation is a predominantly Muslim one, although the United States has been long-grounded as a Judeo-Christian one, some liberal groups are Godless, and will try to do and use any tactic to destroy American culture which is based upon Judeo-Christian principles.
It is imperative that American citizens of all faiths, political persuasions, ethnic backgrounds, social stature, ages, and genders have a God-given right to unite and join forces against liberals who are eager to destroy the fundamental core values instilled in our nation by the Founding Fathers. Exercise your First Amendment rights by standing up, being courteous yet firm, and joining the movement to take our country back. The American dream is still thriving, and no one can take that moral anchor away from us.
On September 12th, 2009, I had the pleasure of attending a TEA party in San Juan Capistrano in partnership with Glenn Beck’s 912 Project. Being that this was the only major event to storm Orange County in a while, it was the opportune moment to convene with others equally concerned about the path our nation is heading in. The South OC 912 Project organized this marvelous event to unite Americans from all walks of life for a common cause: discontent for the cultural transformation playing out today, dissatisfaction with the Administration’s plans for virtual takeover of our lives, and the lack of accountability held by the politicians who were and are supposed to work on our behalf (not theirs).
Being my first TEA party, the San Juan Capistrano affair was a successful event. My parents, who hail from Lithuania (a country once oppressed by the Soviet Union) and sister showed their support for the event by holding signs, actively participating, and relishing on the fact that Americans understand that a communist system could and should never work in America. Fellow UCSD College Republicans Alec Weisman (and editor of the California Review), Richard Davis, and Misty Tienken came as well and stood with their fellow Americans in a celebration of 9/12/01, a day which was marked by unity after that fateful day. People were passionate about our country and held a high regard for patriotism, family, values, limited government, and the like. The OC Register reports that about 1,000 people were in attendance (although estimates of about 2,000 have been circulating), and excitement was greatly showcased during the event. Adults and some young conservatives were in attendance, although being Orange County one would think that more people would have come…Speakers like Chuck DeVore, Bill Hunt, Shawn Black sure got most of the limelight, but it was a speech presented by Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson that resonated the most in my mind. He touched basis on the fundamental issues at hand in this weary time, and came across as the most meaningful and genuine. Overall, the San Juan Capistrano TEA party communicated the air Glenn Beck urged Americans to evince six months ago: one of dedication, common sense, and love for the United States of America.
Americans need not hesitate to stand up and speak against the debauchery playing out in Washington, D.C.. With more tea parties and opinions expressed, we can restore the greatness of America endowed by our Founding Fathers.
Here’s the link to the OC Register article featuring this tea party and yours truly.
