Oh, yes, indeed:

We all want progress, but if you’re on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive. – C. S. Lewis

The news story:

Tens of thousands of Iranian protesters clashed with security forces nationwide, as a major religious holiday was convulsed by what appeared to be the worst street violence since antigovernment demonstrations broke out more than six months ago.

In the capital of Tehran, security forces opened fire on crowds in the central neighborhood of College Square around 11:30 a.m., killing at least four protesters, according to opposition Web sites, eyewitness accounts and online videos. Opposition sites put the death toll as high as eight in Tehran by late Sunday.

It is to be hoped that President Obama will find it within him to speak up and defend these fighters for freedom. Whatever deal he hopes to make with the mullahs isn’t worth it at the price of innocent blood.

These demonstrations show that the Iranian government is weak. Weak, and led by cowardly bullies, in to the bargain. In other words, just the sort of people who will back down if confronted forcefully.

Now, if only someone in the Administration would show some force…

The news story:

Not even a full day after police found the body of an 11-year-old girl who was kidnapped, authorities say, by a registered sex offender, the Salisbury tragedy was spotlighted by Maryland activists who consider the state’s child protection laws inadequate.

Jerry Norton, who heads Citizens for Jessica’s Law in Maryland, a group that for years has fought to fortify laws against pedophiles, was calling lawmakers Saturday, underscoring his position…

…Police said the girl had been taken from her bedroom Tuesday night by a registered sex offender, Thomas James Leggs Jr., who has been held since Wednesday in the abduction…

…Leggs, 30, is listed in the Maryland registry because of a third-degree sex offense conviction in 1998.

In Delaware, he is listed as a “high-risk” sex offender in connection with the rape of a minor in 2001.

I don’t know what, exactly, constitutes a “third-degree sex offense” but it is my opinion that if a person sexually violates another physically, that person should never, ever be allowed of prison. And even things like peeping Tom and flasher crimes should earn stiff, 10 and 20 year sentences. If this latest case doesn’t teach us, then nothing will but the plain fact of the matter is that once a person heads down the route of sexual assault, we can never trust them in public, again.

This doesn’t mean we must be harsh in our treatment of such people. This doesn’t mean such a person cannot gain redemption. But as we cannot peer in to the souls of others and given that we have massive evidence of recidivism among sexual offenders, we just can’t take the chance. And a sex offender who is truly contrite will also not want to be let out of prison – someone who has faced such a crime and left off making excuses about it realizes that the crime is monstrous and he’s lucky he wasn’t executed but was, instead, mercifully given a chance to gain forgiveness.

We have to get serious about this. Without an ounce of vindictiveness in our hearts and, indeed, a level of mercy and love even towards the offenders, we must protect our women and children from such people.

No surprise in our Age of Lies:

It has been an interesting time around the Washington, D.C., area these last few weeks.

The District of Columbia City Council passed a law restricting the ability of Catholic Charities to continue its same level of social services to the city’s poor and homeless.

The Baltimore City Council passed a bill subjecting crisis pregnancy centers to a $150-a-day fine for not posting signs stating what services they do not offer.

Suburban Montgomery County Council is considering legislation to impose a $750-a-day fine (it is, after all, one of the richest areas in the United States) on pro-life pregnancy centers for not stating they do not provide medical advice or establish a doctor-patient relationship.

So far there’s no indication that Home Depot stores will be required to post signs that they do not perform brain surgery or that Pizza Hut franchises will be mandated to advise patrons they do not offer home loans.

Mandating that organizations must say what they do not do is ludicrous (if not unconstitutional).

What is happening here is an orchestrated plan on the left to either force everyone to agree to the left’s view of morality, or to legislate out of the public square any group which refuses. Its not so much that the left loves gay marriage or abortion but that they hate religion in general, Christianity in particular, and Catholicism in super-particular. The left, where it rules the roost, could easily write laws to give consideration to religious bodies who provide vital social services, if not all the services the left would prefer – but when faced with a choice between helping a poor, unwed mother or attacking the Catholic Church, the left doesn’t hesitate: attacking the Church takes priority over all else.

And, after all, the only people who suffer from these decisions are poor people – and poor people don’t register, as people, on the social radar of the left. Who cares if a poor girl in DC can’t get some help? She won’t be at the party’s in the swank sections of town. Heck, such a girl barely even registers as human to rich liberals – she’s kinda like a cow, to be taken care of, to be sure, but not at the price of being unfashionable on such issues as gay marriage.

When we battle the left, what we are ultimately doing is battling for basic, human decency. For the concept that each individual is valuable in and of themselves – not valued only as they fit in to a sociological or electoral calculus.

And, hey, if you think I’m being a bit harsh, I’ve got nothing on Mark Steyn:

Last week, during a bit of banter on Fox News, my colleague Jonah Goldberg reminded me of something I’d all but forgotten. Last September, during his address to Congress on health care, Barack Obama declared: “I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last.”

Dream on. The monstrous mountain of toxic pustules sprouting from greasy boils metastasizing from malign carbuncles that passed the Senate on Christmas Eve is not the last word in “health” “care,” but the first. It ensures that this is all we’ll be talking about, now and forever.

Government can’t just annex “one-sixth of the U.S. economy” (i.e., the equivalent of annexing the entire British or French economy, or annexing the entire Indian economy twice over) and then just say: “Okay, what’s next? On to cap-and-trade . . . ” Nations that governmentalize health care soon find themselves talking about little else.

What has happened is astounding. First off because it is known that nationalized health care doesn’t work. First we were to emulate the Brits, until their national health service proved worthless. Then it was on to emulating Canadians, until they started flooding across the border to seek medical care. Now, from what I can tell, we’re to emulate the French as, to this point, the French health care system hasn’t proven itself a disaster. Of course, its running massively over budget year by year and wait times are rising…so, in a few years we’ll no longer be able to use France as an example. Of course, if the Democrats get their way, it won’t matter – we’ll be shackled to a failed system where only the rich and the politically connected get good care.

Secondly, there is all the corruption which has been used to advance this. Remember, this wouldn’t even have got off the ground had not the Democrats, upon the death of Ted Kennedy, corruptly changed a law they had corruptly changed a few years back to prevent even the faintest possibility of a Republican appointing a Senator in Massachusetts. This is the level of garbage we’re dealing with. Democrats in charge means that rank, nauseating corruption is the rule, not the exception. And it took the Democrats all the slime they could find just to grease the path of this dog of a bill.

And its a bill that only a tiny, out-of-touch, leftist minority even wants. And it doesn’t even do what its supposed to do – its supposed to provide care for all Americans, but it will still leave millions out of the system. To nutshell it – Democrats are passing a bill which will cost like heck, won’t do its job, no one wants it and massive bribery with taxpayer dollars has been used to get it through.

This has to be stopped – and once we do stop it, we’re going to have to reform our government root and branch.

Things really are changing:

Barack Obama is not used to being the guy not invited to a party. At the Copenhagen global warming conference, however, he found that not everyone wanted to hang with him. Our president can’t take a hint.

After Mr. Obama’s bilateral meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, the Chinese began sending lower-level functionaries to the multilateral meetings. A frustrated Mr. Obama pressed for another bilateral meeting, which was scheduled for Friday at 6:15 p.m. Other leaders of the countries known as the “BASIC” bloc were harder to pin down.

The Obama team tried to schedule a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and was told he was at the airport readying to leave. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also was unavailable. South African President Jacob Zuma said there was no point meeting without India and Brazil. Then the Chinese pushed the bilateral meeting back to 7 p.m.

“We were told they were at the airport,” a senior administration official said. “We were told delegations were split up. We were told they weren’t going to meet.” So imagine Mr. Obama’s surprise when he arrived for the bilateral powwow and found all four leaders in the room already in deep discussion. “Are you ready for me?” he said with an “uncharacteristic edge” to his voice, according to a CBS News report.

Because they neither respect nor fear him. This, liberals, is an excellent demonstration of reality. You thought that because opinion polls showed Bush unpopular that the world didn’t respect the US. You thought that because of the absurd stories of abuse at Gitmo that the world didn’t respect the US. You thought that because we were fighting in Iraq that the world didn’t respect the US. You thought wrong. The reality was that behind all the rhetoric, the US was deeply respected by friends and greatly feared by foes while Bush was President. Everyone knew that not only would America fight in its interests, but would also support its allies and would never quit.

All of that – every last bit of it – has evaporated under Obama in less than a year. Even Clinton’s cut-and-run in Somalia in 1993 wasn’t as disastrous as Obama’s policies have been. Quit simply, the world is ever more convinced that Obama is in over his head and that American policy is in the hands of ignorant fools.

President Obama, please call President Bush and have a sit down with him about the ins and outs of foreign policy.

Much as the left wants to believe it never even started, the fact remains there are people out there who want to kill all of us:

A Nigerian man, claiming to be linked to al-Qaeda, allegedly tried to set off an incendiary device aboard a transatlantic airplane Friday as it descended toward Detroit’s airport in what the White House called an attempted act of terrorism.

The man was quickly subdued after another passenger leapt on top of him, others on the plane said, and Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam landed safely around 1 p.m. Friday. The suspect was being treated at a hospital for burns he suffered while igniting the device, the Transportation Security Administration said.

The FBI is investigating the incident.

A good job by that alert passenger – not so good a job for the people who allowed the incendiary device through. We all, naturally, expect that the authorities are looking for whatever gap it was this terrorist slipped through. For those of who travel, please treat this as a reminder that the security checks are not just a tiresome bother – they are for a very real purpose. The enemy is going to keep coming at us until he’s defeated – and he’ll only be defeated when the Islamo-fascist worldview is discredited.

That worldview, by the way, won’t be discredited by making nice with Iran or demanding that Israel pull out of the settlements. It will only be discredited when a new socio-political settlement is reached in the Moslem world. Such a settlement must include at least a semblance of democracy in order that the wishes of the Moslem people – in secret ballot – can be known. As we’ve seen in Iraq, when Moslems are given a real choice they don’t tend to choose the people calling for Jihad. Even if we wish to believe that all Moslems are consumed with a white-hot hatred of America, the fact remains that in the day to day, Moslems want what everyone else wants: to be left alone to live their own lives.

President Obama and the rest of the liberals should pay heed to this happily thwarted terrorist attack and draw the proper conclusions. We are not dealing with man-caused disaster but with wicked men who want to do evil things and who are able to do so because of the injustice of government in the Moslem world. Only if this is grasped can rational policy be developed for dealing with terrorism.

As exemplified by California, detailed over at Mish’s who then concludes:

If “everything” is on the table (for budget cuts), then why isn’t anyone mentioning union contracts, pensions, prisons, privatizing services, property taxes, proposition 13, state mandates, and illegal immigration?

California is in a mess because in practice “nothing” is on the table. Democrats do not want to cut services. Nor do Democrats want to address unions, pension problems, or illegal immigration.

Meanwhile Republicans do not want to raise taxes and I certainly cannot blame them on that score.

Schwarzenegger’s idea to ease mandates and minimums on social programs is a good one. It should apply to every state. However, if Obama goes along, California will only save $8 billion but the hole is $21 billion and rising every month.

Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project, says “there are no easy solutions left”. Jean Ross is not phrasing the problem correctly. There are many easy solutions starting with illegal immigration, cutting pension promises, cutting union benefits, and privatizing the prison guards.

The problem is there is no political will to do what absolutely must be done.

Political will is, indeed, what is lacking – in California, in most of the rest of the States and, of course, in Washington DC. California’s crisis is acute because, unlike the federal government, California doesn’t have a Federal Reserve which can print money to buy US bonds and thus paper over the fiscal cracks. But as goes California, so goes the nation (and, as an aside, now we can see why Arnie is talking so nice about Barry lately – he’s looking for a hand out).

Everything needs to be cut – every dime which can be saved from local, State and federal budgets has to be saved. We simply must balance the budget as swiftly as possible and no matter how much it hurts. Failure to do so just means even worse pain, for a longer time, down the road.

I’m not like our liberal friends who complained about each vacation President Bush took. The President does need a significant amount of down time in order to be perpetually ready when a crisis erupts. But was it really necessary for Obama to fly the whole kit and kaboodle over to Hawaii while we’re suffering the largest deficits in our history? Something wrong with Camp David for Christmas? Why does Michelle Obama need such a large staff? Goodness, how many foreign trips has the President been on and its not even the end of his first year in office? How many Czars do we have? How much do they cost?

The party is over, good people. We lived on fiat money and usury for nearly a century and it was quite a ball – but, its over, now. We’re broke, suffering a massive hangover and the bill collectors are talking foreclosure. And when I say “everything” needs to be cut, I mean everything. Yes, even Defense – with the proviso that the troops in battle shall not lack the least thing (I’m sure there’s some new ships and planes we can delay while still retaining naval and aerial superiority). But while Defense is a big budget item, its not the only thing in there and, bank on it, there’s far more fat and fraud likely to be found in, say, the Education and Labor departments than in Defense. The main thing is to massively cut spending until spending is less than revenues – so think in terms of everyone in government having to get along with less.

One third less people (or, however you like it, one third less payroll – can keep more people if pay cuts are taken); one third less government travel; one third less staff for elected officials (take that, Czars!)…one third less of everything, except that part of Defense and law enforcement which keeps the bad guys at bay (to do other than offer full support for such is to repeat the criminal neglect shown our armed forces in the 30’s and 70’s). If we don’t do this – and do it soon – then it’ll just get worse and worse…and don’t think of it in terms of “well, its 100 worse now and we can wait until is 101 worse next year”. Next year it will be 150 worse…and then 300 worse the year after that…and 600 worse the year after that, and so on. When you’re bankrupt, as we are, piling on more debt has massively worse effects than piling on a bit of debt when you’re solvent.

Right now, we’re living in a fool’s paradise where we’re pretending that another round of fiat money and usury will fix the problems wrought by fiat money and usury. We need a complete shift in our attitudes – a complete understanding that only by living within our means can we survive.

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus

that the whole world should be enrolled.

This was the first enrollment,

when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town.

And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth

to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem,

because he was of the house and family of David,

to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

While they were there,

the time came for her to have her child,

and she gave birth to her firstborn son.

She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger,

because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields

and keeping the night watch over their flock.

The angel of the Lord appeared to them

and the glory of the Lord shone around them,

and they were struck with great fear.

The angel said to them,

“Do not be afraid;

for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy

that will be for all the people.

For today in the city of David

a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.

And this will be a sign for you:

you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes

and lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel,

praising God and saying:

“Glory to God in the highest

and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” – Luke 2:1-14

I guess the Donks will actually vote on the health care scam today – have at it with that or anything else which comes to mind.

We here at Blogs for Victory wish to once again thank all of you for coming here this past year and for putting up with us. We do appreciate your visits and we hope we can continue to provide interesting posts in the coming year.

UPDATE: Just how did Harry Reid become rich?