Two Left.

There are two matters that I am highly considering writing about today. Neither of which are very festive, but I cannot be considered the sole cause of that.

First of all, the remains of former U.S. President Gerry Ford were moved for display at the Rotunda in Washington, D.C., today were the family and nations public are traditionally given the chance for viewing and grieving. President Ford's body will remain in the Rotunda until early Tuesday when President Bush and others will perform the eulogies. Today, Vice President Dick Cheney and outgoing Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert (R-IL), were the top speakers to offer their thoughts on the importance of President Ford's passing. Others may think this is a mistake, to offer a second-tier line-up of speakers for the viewing of President Ford; but I suspect the boys were chosen to speak due to simpler reasons.

You see President Bush and the family are on vacation (again) in Crawford, Texas. Interestingly a storm watch was in placed into effect for central Texas as severe winds and weather hit and subsequently forced the First Family be driven to a tornado shelter on the ranch. Obviously, with all the relaxing and twister action, the President couldn't be torn away to speak at the viewing. Besides, he'll be there in D.C. on Tuesday (giving his speech writers time to see family and write a helluva eulogy).

This couldn't have anything to do with the release by Washington Post editor, Bob Woodward, of a 28 April 2006 interview he had with President Ford on his thoughts on the Iraq Invasion, could it? After all, Gerry Ford had great and close ties with a few of the current President's cabinet so Ford had some clout with his opinion. His full statement has not been released but some parts of it are fairly damning:

"I don't think I would have gone to war,"..."Rumsfeld and Cheney and the president made a big mistake in justifying going into the war in Iraq. They put the emphasis on weapons of mass destruction,"... "I've never publicly said I thought they made a mistake, but I felt very strongly it was an error in how they should justify what they were going to do."

-Former U.S. President Gerry Ford in earlier 2006 interview with Bob Woodward

Did the release of this former President's comments create a bit of a sore spot for W.? Keep in mind, Tuesday is the second day with a new Congress and groups of congressional leaders. Pressure will be on and this short memoriam for President Ford may hold greater weight than even the State of the Union Speech at the end of January - early February. Time will tell.

Secondly in a BBC News article yesterday, the global warming debate was given renewed cannon-fodder for slinging at the doubters that the world is warming thanks to the unchecked burning of fossil fuels by humans. Scientists have discovered on satellite images that a shelf of Canadian Artic ice, larger than Manhattan Island, broke away from the mass of ice in the North artic sea.

As this year closes I'd like to think that the current leaders of these United States are aware of the consistency of those forces that surround them: inevitable death and the legacy a leader leaves once they succumb, nature's ever-present forces that remind humanity of its comparative frailty, and the current wave of left-leaning political viewpoints calling for resolution in the Middle East and a restoration of this nation's international reputation as a principled force for human rights.

If these forces are ignored long enough, will they go away? Time will tell.