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FrankRep
06-17-2013, 12:53 AM
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Cold War May Be Over, But the Fight Against Communism Continues (http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/cold-war-may-be-over-fight-against-communism-continues)


Sunshine State News
June 12, 2013


U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (http://ros-lehtinen.house.gov/), R-Fla., the chairwoman of the House Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks on Wednesday at the 6th Anniversary of the dedication of the Victims of Communism Memorial when the Truman - Reagan Medal of Freedom was presented to Dr. Yang Jianli, a Chinese dissident who protested the Communist regime in Tienanmen Square in 1989.

During her speech, Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen spoke of the evils of communism and the continuing fight against oppressive regimes throughout the world:



I’m honored to stand here and to be part of this important occasion among so many people devoted to freedom and democracy.

It was an honor to receive the Truman - Reagan Medal of Freedom in 2011 and I want to thank the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation for its hard work and dedicated service to make this important event possible, and I want to congratulate Dr. Yang Jianli for receiving this hard-earned and prestigious award.

Just last week, we remembered the hundreds of brave Chinese students who were killed by the ruthless army on June 4th 1989 at Tienanmen Square so it is fitting that today we honor Dr. Jianli – a survivor of this brutal massacre.

I also want to thank my friends and colleagues Congressman Bridenstine and Mrs. Annette Lantos for taking time out of your busy schedules to be with us this morning.

As many of you know, the late Tom Lantos and I worked together for many years on fighting communism and his legacy reminds us all of the importance to strive for human rights and human dignity.

As a victim of communism myself, I understand the horrors that this misguided ideology has brought, and continues to bring, to billions of people around the world.

While some people demanding freedom were able to overcome communism in Germany and Poland, many regimes such as Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, and China continue to oppress their people and violate human rights.

Just like so many other victims of communism, my family had to flee communist Cuba and start a new life.

Luckily for us, we came to the United States where freedom and democracy provides bottomless opportunities for people of all backgrounds to fulfill and achieve any dream.

Being the first Hispanic woman to be elected to the United States Congress is a testament to the opportunities this great nation has to offer.

The Cold War may be over but let us not forget that our fight against communism is far from over and much work still needs to be done.

Just look at the tremendous differences between countries led by communist regimes in former East Germany and current North Korea and countries of the same people living under freedom and democracy in former West Germany and current South Korea.

When comparing South Korea to North Korea, it takes less than a blink of an eye to see the stark difference between communism and freedom.

South Korea’s freedom and democratic society grants its citizens limitless opportunities, but North Koreans are starving while their leaders live in luxury.

It wasn’t too long ago when President Reagan said those famous words - “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” - as he stood in Berlin facing that horrid wall which separated families and loved ones between the worlds of freedom and authoritarianism.

Still, even with great efforts and much money invested into East German cities, there’s still a clear difference in quality of life in East Germany, causing many young people to flock to former West German cities to seek better jobs and opportunities.

Having said that, I also want to talk about the ongoing human rights violations occurring in communist regimes such as Vietnam and China.

Just last week, I had the privilege to meet with leaders of the Vietnamese-American community on Capitol Hill.

As a Cuban-American, I can relate to their concerns and sorrow.

Just like in Cuba, regime dissidents and activists routinely face harassment, intimidation and imprisonment in Vietnam.

I have continued to call on the State Department to list Vietnam as a “country of Particular Concern” for its complete disregard for human rights, and I am a proud cosponsor of a bill in this Congress, H.Res 218, that calls for that designation.

Regarding China, I hope the President took the opportunity last week to bring up the gross human rights violations committed each day under the brutal communist regime when he met with the leader of China.

Along with the numerous reports showing religious intolerance, arbitrary and unjust court procedures, I’m greatly concerned with continued forced abortions.

These abusive policies cannot go unabated or overlooked.

And while we must continue to help those living under oppressive communist regimes throughout the globe, we must not forget about the people in our own hemisphere.

As a victim of the Castro regime, I am particularly concerned about the growing number of young people walking around in Castro and Che Guevara t-shirts throughout Europe and in many other parts in the world – including here in the United States.

It’s shocking that college students will wear t-shirts with the faces and names of such mass murderers and brutal dictators simply because they think it’s “cool.”

Throughout the past couple of months, I have been able to meet with several pro-democracy advocates from Cuba.

They have come to Washington, with the same message: the Cuban people are striving against an oppressive regime for freedom and are no longer afraid.

These courageous individuals need our support and admiration.

We must stand in solidarity with these brave pro democracy activists in Cuba who are engaged in a daily struggle against tyranny and a brutal dictatorship that stops at nothing to hold on to power and squash any and all dissent for over half a century of dictatorship.

Not only is it our moral obligation to help all people attain freedom and democracy, so that all people can live in a free environment in which they can pursue their basic rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,

But it is also in our national security interest to eradicate communism once and for all from the face of the earth,

As a strong supporter of human rights, individual liberties, freedoms and a fellow victim of communism, I pledge my utmost support as a Member of Congress to ensure that the freedoms and liberties granted to Americans can ultimately be spread everywhere, making all of us safer.


U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fl, has represented South Florida in Congress since winning a special election in 1989. In 2011, Chairman Ros-Lehtinen received the Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom award from the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.

Sola_Fide
06-17-2013, 01:16 AM
strong supporter of human rights, individual liberties, freedoms and a fellow victim of communism, I pledge my utmost support as a Member of Congress to ensure that the freedoms and liberties granted to Americans can ultimately be spread everywhere, making all of us safer.

The irony drips from about every sentence of this speech.

Debbie Downer
06-17-2013, 01:18 AM
She is one of the most disgusting people alive...and Marco Rubio's mentor.

sailingaway
06-17-2013, 01:58 AM
I thought she was going to be talking about the communism here at home, but she dissapointed me.

DamianTV
06-17-2013, 02:15 AM
Great. More good news, just what I wanted to hear. The War on Communism (excluding Domestic Communism).

enhanced_deficit
06-17-2013, 02:27 AM
She is one of the most disgusting people alive...and Marco Rubio's mentor.

So that is why she was being called douchebag in youtube comments.

Unless she is just mentally sick.

Ros-Lehtinen on bombing Syria: “My heart says yes but my head ... (http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/05/ros_lehtinen_on_bombing_syria_my_hearts_says_yes_b ut_my_head_says_no)thecable.foreignpolicy.com/.../ros_lehtinen_on_bombing_syria_my_hea...‎

Mar 5, 2012

FrankRep
06-17-2013, 07:29 AM
Great. More good news, just what I wanted to hear. The War on Communism (excluding Domestic Communism).

Oh I bet she views Obama as a Communist.

FrankRep
06-17-2013, 07:33 AM
I thought she was going to be talking about the communism here at home, but she dissapointed me.

Well Hell, lets reach out to her.

She's seen the effects of Communism first hand. Lets show her how the United States is falling into Communism.


I'm sure she's well aware, however. Obamacare sends up red flags -- so to speak.

Origanalist
06-17-2013, 07:46 AM
Not only is it our moral obligation to help all people attain freedom and democracy, so that all people can live in a free environment in which they can pursue their basic rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,

But it is also in our national security interest to eradicate communism once and for all from the face of the earth,


http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4616292039002836&pid=15.1

FrankRep
06-17-2013, 08:11 AM
She's anti-communist, that's an excellent starting to show her the path to liberty.

enhanced_deficit
06-17-2013, 08:18 AM
She's anti-communist, that's an excellent starting to show her the path to liberty.

As are Talibans and Al Qaeda.

She is also a hardcore socialist and has been working hard to send US tax payers billions of $s to perpetual welfare states abroad. She is a neocon interventionist with pretty bad record.

nbruno322
06-17-2013, 08:21 AM
She is a disgusting pig and one of the loudest voices for aggressive foreign intervention.

Cowlesy
06-17-2013, 08:31 AM
She's anti-communist, that's an excellent starting to show her the path to liberty.

Frank, she's a stark-raving neoconservative on foreign policy. Way way way over there with McCain and Graham. Almost always votes with Boehner. She's terrible.

FrankRep
06-17-2013, 08:38 AM
Frank, she's a stark-raving neoconservative on foreign policy. Way way way over there with McCain and Graham. Almost always votes with Boehner. She's terrible.

Yeah, I'm researching her record now and I didn't realize how bad she was.

You guys can simply point out details of her voting record without name-calling.

BAllen
06-17-2013, 09:13 AM
As are Talibans and Al Qaeda.

She is also a hardcore socialist and has been working hard to send US tax payers billions of $s to perpetual welfare states abroad. She is a neocon interventionist with pretty bad record.

That doesn't surprise me. There are different brands of Marxism. She failed to mention that Germany STILL has a socialist police state. Or our country, for that matter.