Welcome to the 44th President of The United States.  Black or white, Democrat or Republican, male or female, I think that everyone can agree that Obama has a certain charisma about him that the world needs right now.  He has the ability to inspire people and make them feel good about themselves and what they are doing, which are two traits that a leader (regardless if he is leading the nation or a small company) must have.

It is too early to tell what the effects of the Bush presidential legacy will be.  It would seem that most people would love to blame the outgoing President for many of the world’s problems, and while he does have to bear his share of the responsibility, those who would cast the first stone are mistaken.  You can point to 9/11 as the turning point of the Bush presidency – a time where he has the highest popularity rating of any President in modern history, and where it went from there.

Obama is one of the youngest Presidents of all time.  Only Grant, Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Clinton were younger (though Clinton aged ridiculously while in office.  Monica sucked the life right out of him.).  He is the first born in the 1960′s, the first President of that generation.  He is the first colored President, and the first born in Hawaii.  More importantly, he is the first President to embrace the digital medium of communication.  He sleeps with his BlackBerry, and uses the Internet as a means to interact with the public and to share his ideas, thoughts, and values.  Furthermore, despite his affliation with the Democratic Party, he does not mind crossing party lines in order to get things done.  All of these traits endear him to the people.  Not only in the United States, but around the world as well.

It is my hope that he can begin to fix some of the major problems currently occupying the United States.  A woeful economy, two wars, and crumbling infrastructure.  A nation who had lost faith in its previous leader.  The United States is the only true superpower left in the world.  As they go, the world goes.  If they are prosperous, then likely so shall we be.  As I am Canadian, I know how tightly our two countries are tied and we enevitibly follow, be the times good or bad.

Good luck to President Obama.  He has a lot of work to do.  It would seem that the weight of the world is truly riding on his shoulders.

An interesting bit of news today.  As many know, the digital conversion from analog television is scheduled to take place on February 17th in the United States.  All analog transmissions will be shut down at midnight.

However…there is a problem (because nothing ever goes smoothly).  The NTIA and the Department of Commerce have run into a cash shortage with respect to providing consumers coupons for the digital to analog set top converters, which has created a backlog of approximately 1.1 million customers.  These set top boxes allow analog tv sets to display digital signals, and are necessary due to the fact that once the digital conversion occurs, these televisions will cease to function otherwise.  The coupons offer $40.00 off the price of these boxes, which typically run anywhere from $45.00 to $80.00. 

Furthermore, there is a shortage of the boxes on the market.  People cannot find these units (amusingly enough, they are all manufactured in China), and therefore are unable to purchase them.

As a result, the incoming Obama administration has asked Congress to mandate a law postponing the digital conversion.  Republicans do not want to change the date, and neither do some Democrats.  We shall see what occurs in the next few weeks as the date becomes closer and closer.

It would appear not.

The Israelis and the Palestinians are in deep conflict once again.  I guess there are only so many rocket attacks the Jewish people can take before they get fed up.  One can understand why by looking at the country of Israel.

In 1947, the United Nations approved splitting the country of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab.  Less than a year later, the Jewish state declared independence (which was recognized immediately by the most powerful nation in the world at the time, the United States).  This plunged them into an immediate war with the Arab state (and their neighbors, who just happen to all be Arab).  Israel won these wars and annexxed even more territory, expanding their borders beyond the initial United Nations partition plan.

This is just recent history, and Israel has fought battles against its neighbors and the Palestinians ever since.  As they receive aid from the United States, as well as access to military technology (and are also extremely resourceful themselves), they have never been defeated.  If they were, Israel would be obliterated off the map by the victors.

The Israelis take no chances.  They are not afraid to go on the offensive, and their spy service and internal security service (the Mossad and Shin Bet, respectively) are the best in the business.  They have effectively and ruthlessly carried out many kidnappings and assassinations.  In fact, they warned the United States about 9/11 long before it took place.

All of this conflict stems from religion.  Despite the obvious reference to the domain name, I do not consider myself religious and I do not understand hating someone because they are of a different faith.  Religion is supposed to preach peace, yet look at all the conflict throughout the world that it inspires.  It is supposed to provide hope and joy, yet millions of people have been killed in the name of religion.  Peace and harmony, faith and understanding…but at what cost?

I am Canadian.  I am proud of my country, but her politics make me sick to my stomach.

For those who are not aware, we have a federal minority Conservative government.  Two months ago, they won the election.  This is the second consectutive minority Conservative government that we have had, which prior to that was a Liberal minority government.  The other two federal parties, the socialist New Democratic Party and the separatist Bloc Quebecois, have never been much of a factor in our government.

Together the three opposition parties can form enough of majority to topple the current Conservative government, and this is what they are currently attempting to do.  For the first time in 91 years, they are hoping to form a government without holding an election.  Canadians are up in arms over this turn of events.  They are outraged.  In fact, a Facebook group founded yesterday, “Canadians Against a Liberal/NDP Coalition Gov’t” already has 31,000 members!  The media is not holding back, either.  How ironic it is that the three opposition parties attempt to usurp power on the 250th anniversary of the birth of parliamentary democracy in Canada.

Does the Conservative government have any options?  They do, but they are very limited.  They can legally challenge it, however it is unlikely that this will get them too far.  They can ask the Governor General (Michaelle Jean) to send Canadians back to the polls, or they can ask her to prorogue Parliament.  In short, none of these options are likely.  An election in Canada costs $300 million dollars, and Canadians do not want to go back to the polls again, six weeks after electing a government.

The Conservatives understand this only too well and are mounting a public campaign in order to get The Three Stooges to back down.  I hope they succeed, because their reasons for forming a coalition government are not altogether altruistic, and the fact that they were not duly elected to govern the country.  For the same reasons, I did not support Harper when he suggested this very same maneuver in 2005 with the Bloc Quebecois (to topple the then minority Liberal government).

The reason that the three parties are banding together is due to the economic update that was presented in the House of Commons by Jim Flaherty, the Minister of Revenue.  In short, this mini-budget had a serious poison pill within it to cut all taxpayer subsidies to political parties.  In effect, this would save the government a paltry $30 million dollars, but would cripple the finances of all three opposition parties, as well as the Green party (who hold no seats in Parliament).  The Conservative party would be the hardest hit financially, however it would suffer the least amount of impact as the majority of their fundraising is derived from other sources.  The taxpayer subsidies are currently $1.95 per vote. The budget also temporarily stopped federal employees from striking.

There were no economic stimulus measures within this mini-budget, as they were going to be tabled in the next budget due in late January.  This is the excuse the three opposition parties are using in their attempt to form a new government.  Needless to say – anyone with half a brain can figure out that this has nothing to do with the economy.  The fact is that during a recession, spending your way out of it is not the best way of doing things.  Furthermore, our neighbor – the world’s largest economy – has a new President on the way.  A very different President than the current sitting President.  This means that there will be a lot of changes coming, for better or for worse.  The wisest course at this time with respect to the Canadian economy, as difficult as it is, is to wait.  Stephen Harper understands this because like him or not, party politics aside, the man is a trained economist.  The other three leaders are lawyers.

Many people see this as a cheap attempt at a power grab.  In some ways, it is.  Moreso, however, I think it is an attempt to ensure that the three opposition parties continue to have funding provided for by the taxpayers.  Without it, they would be as bankrupt financially as they are morally.  All three parties had their backs against the wall.  The leader of the Liberal party, Stephane Dion, was the author of the Clarity Act, which defined the terms of separation for Quebec from Canada.  Gilles Duceppe, the leader of the Bloc Quebecois, is an open separatist who will do anything to ensure that Quebec leaves Canada.  Jack Layton is the leader of the socialist NDP party, who seems to sit in the middle of the other two leaders whose politics are so polarized from one another.

Throughout this political turmoil, none of the three stooges failed to note that the Toronto Stock Exchange dropped almost 9% upon hearing their intentions.  Nine percent!  Billions of dollars wiped out, gone and disappeared.  Yet their first order of business if they form a successful government will be to introduce legislation that will inject thirty billion dollars into the economy.  Curiously, this sounds like a “robbing Peter to pay Paul” scenario.  No one can deny that the world economy is in serious trouble, however this will be the topic of a future article.

This should not be allowed to happen, under any circumstances, regardless of your political affiliation.  What the country needs right now is stability, and to navigate through the economic tough times slowly and steadily.  It is my hope that the Governor General makes the right decision.  It will be the most difficult decision that any Governor General has had to make (it is a largely ceremonial post).

Senator Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State?  President-elect Barack Obama is considering this witch for a top-level position in his cabinet.  At first glance, one would think that he had lost his marbles.  Stand back and look at the big picture, and you may be able to see what he is truly thinking.

The Democratic runner-up for the top job in the White House certainly has the credentials to do the job.  In fact, of the handful of qualified candidates for the job, Clinton may be the most qualified.  However, given the war that transpired between her and Obama during the nomination process (despite her endorsement of Obama once he had secured the nomination), she is nonetheless a curious choice.

By Obama offering this high-level position to Clinton, it effectively paints her into a corner.  If she accepts, then President-elect Obama is her boss.  She is his employee there on in, and this thusly prevents her from pulling any power plays (as she may be able to by remaining a member of the Senate).  If she declines the post, then her power base is eroded and she will alienate many Democrats.

This also allows Obama to scrutinize her finances and past history carefully.  It is no secret that her and Bill have a lot of skeletons in the closet.  Being a first term President, he doesn’t need that baggage coming out to haunt him at the most innopportune of times.

Obama also consolidates his power base by having it leak out that the Secretary of State was offered to Hillary.  He now looks magnanimous by making the pitch to Mrs. Clinton.  For a rookie politician, President-elect Obama seems to be making few, if any, mistakes.  One can only hope that he is not the rabbit sleeping with the snake.