Along with the arrival of the Obamas in Hawaii this past week, I couldn’t help but notice that the next leader of the free world exited the plane carrying his own luggage! When was the last time you saw an elected official toting his own baggage?

Man of the people. Am I alone in this?

My hat is off to the man who threw the shoes.

The job of appointing Clinton’s replacement falls to Democratic New York Governor David Patterson. The Governor will appoint someone to be the junior senator from his state to serve for two years until a special election is held in 2010.

There has been speculation that Patterson could appoint an obvious choice like one of the Democratic politicians service either on the state level or in the House of Representatives. But there has also been speculation that he could make a unique selection such as Robert Kennedy Jr. , Caroline Kennedy or even former President Bill Clinton.

If Clinton were to accept such an appointment, he would be the third U.S. President in history to go from President to serving on Capitol Hill. John Quincy Adams served several terms as Congressman from Massachusetts after losing a second-term as President, and Andrew Johnson won a seat in the Senate following his presidency.

My choice would be Caroline Kennedy. It’s a smart and poetic choice.

In a press conference at the transition team’s Chicago headquarters, Clinton said that “President Kennedy once said that engaging the world to meet the threats we face was the greatest adventure of our century,” and with that, Clinton added “Well, Mr. President-Elect, I am proud to join you on what will be a difficult and exciting adventure in this new century.”

One of the many challenges ahead of Clinton as Secretary of State, is undoing eight years of fuddled isolationist policies by George Bush, and as Clinton put it, restoring America’s image abroad as “a force for positive change.”

The discrimination lawsuit was filed by a 46 year-old New Jersey man who claimed that eHarmony violated his rights because it only offered “man seeking woman” or “woman seeking man” as options for it’s online dating services. The suit claimed that it violated sate anti-discrimination laws because there was no way for a user to add “man seeking man” or “woman seeking woman” as choices in the search for compatible mates.

eHarmony decided to settle the lawsuit because “litigation outcomes can be unpredictable,” a company spokesperson said. In other words, they knew they were wrong and this was cheaper than facing the potential fines and punishment at the end of a trial.

eHarmony has agreed to launch an affiliate site called “Compatible Partners” by March 31, 2009 and in addition, will post photos of same-sex couples, include those couples in advertising and provide a link to the same-sex site. As an extra “zinger” against eHarmony in the settlement agreement, the Compatible Partners site must state that it is affiliated with eHarmony. They can’t hide from their conservative supporters any longer.

In light of the Proposition 8 battle brewing in California, we’ll take any small victory we can get these days. Justice feels good.

This cutting-edge video includes cameos from the President-Elect, as well as the soon-to-be first family, along with a myriad of common folk and celebrities alike.

Will.i.am has produced an anthem to the long struggle for equality and a celebratory cry for Obama supporters around the world.

The new trailer for the upcoming Star Trek Movie (May 5, 2009 release) was attached to the new James Bond flick over the weekend. Audiences and Trekkies alike are getting their first tastes of director J.J. Abrams (Lost) incredible vision for this epic feature.

The Star Trek movie takes viewers where no one has been before…the beginning. Watch how Kirk and Spock’s childhoods shape their destiny. See how the famous Enterprise crew is brought together for their first adventures in space.

Damn cool.

See the new trailer in high definition.

It seems that with the reduction of the bear’s traditional habitat and feeding grounds, they have become so stressed and hungry, that they are now turning to cannibalism to survive.

Prior to the meeting, Obama said he was meeting with McCain to discuss ways the two of them could work together for the good of the country, and to thank the Arizona Senator for his service to the country.

You can almost imagine how the conversation might have gone:

OBAMA: “Senator McCain, welcome and thank you for the spirited campaign you ran and for your service to the country.”

McCAIN: (grumble, grumble) “Should have won.” (grumble, grumble)

OBAMA: “I look forward to working with you in the next four years to bring a bi-partisan spirit to Washington for the good of the people.”

McCAIN: (grumble, grumble, twitch) “Damn hockey mom….” (grumble) “…lipstick.”

In reality though, both parties issued a joint statement after their meeting:

“At this defining moment in history, we believe that Americans of all parties want and need their leaders to come together and change the bad habits of Washington so that we can solve the common and urgent challenges of our time,” the statement said.

“It is in this spirit that we had a productive conversation today about the need to launch a new era of reform where we take on government waste and bitter partisanship in Washington in order to restore trust in government, and bring back prosperity and opportunity for every hardworking American family,” they said.