It is the first day of 2007 and what can we say, in the past few days we have seen the death of a flamboyant singer and entertainer, a former president and a former dictator. For the world of music we can certainly say that James Brown made a tremendous impact on the world, its debatable whether the same can be said of Gerald Ford, a decent man to be sure but for the most part, nothing ventured and nothing gained. And as for the pardoning of Nixon, if this country is so fragile that the trial of a criminal president would drive it to the brink, then perhaps this country should not exist in the first place.

On the other hand, had Ford won the election contest of 1976, perhaps this country would have been spared the farce that was the Carter presidency and the birth of the 2nd wave of Islamic radicalism.

The death of Saddam Hussein is notable, perhaps mostly because of the lack of attention the act has garnered. Here we have one of the most brutal tyrants of the modern era and his death means nothing in the grand scheme of things. His death will change nothing for the US or the war in Iraq, much less further the cause of “democracy” in the embattled country.

Aside from these deaths there isn’t much in the way of eventful stories to report, one could speak of John Edwards recent announcement that he will once again vie for the presidency, but why, does anyone in their right mind truly believe that this hack politician has a chance of winning the presidency. Even the anointed one, Hillary Clinton appears destined for setback in 2008.

In Somalia, Islamists face further setbacks in the bid to seize control of that wretched country, in Europe 2 new countries join the EU and 3000 Americans have now died in Iraq…Happy New Year!