CNN YouTube debate

Did anybody else watch the CNN YouTube debate from last night? I have to be honest, I am pretty impressed, but cautious, about 3 of the Democratic candidates, the three being: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards, who are all, ironically, leading the polls in that order. I hope I am not falling victim to the "all talk, but no action" spiels of each of the candidates. Feeling like I am a good judge of character and of one's genuineness, I sensed a lot of heartfelt and honest answers from The Three. I think The Others have no shot at all and should just quit now, except maybe for Joe Biden, whose no B.S. personality is pretty fun to watch...probably because he is full of B.S. But who isn't at this level of politics?

The main theme I got from the debate was: it's time for a real change. Did anybody take away anything else? Yes, there were other main points, but the "real change" one seemed to be echoed by the entire group. Is a "real change" possible? With a Democrat or a Republican? In my opinion, the Republican candidates are a joke, but I will try to keep this post unbiased, which won't happen since this is my blog and my opinion. Anyways, I'm not sure how many of you follow politics closely, closely being relative of course. I definitely don't, but when it's presidential election time, few things can match the televised debates, especially the ones where the party's own candidates are facing off with each other.

All that having been said, can we really expect a "real change" if one of The Three were elected? I hold, and forever will, I think, a faint glimmer of hope that America will become one of the greatest countries in the world. I'm not old enough to remember anything important about the presidents before Clinton, and I probably didn't really start caring for politics, at the president level, until the 2000 election. But it seems to me that Americans, the ones who care enough about what's going on with Jorge Bush in office, are ready for a new direction, a new leader who has a genuine interest in America, its people, and its future. That sounds cliche and sweet, I know, but when a sensible direction and a true leader has been absent for the past 7, going on 8 years, what else would Americans want?

I feel like I am babbling, so I will sum up the main point of this post. Do you think if one of The Three were elected that America's direction would be righted and we would see true and effective leadership? Do you think no matter who is elected, Democrat or Republican, that America won't really change and that we will continue to act as we have acted for so long now? Any thoughts, challenges, or disagreements are welcome...as long as nobody says anything positive about Pres. Bush...seriously.

Seeing nature through Suburbia

Despite the seemingly inescapable suburbs that make up Colorado Springs, there still exist those opportunities where nature reminds us that no matter how many houses and businesses and roads are built, its beauty is ever present and everlasting. This shot was taken from our back door the other day.

"God doesn't exist because nature exists, nature exists because God exists."

Thoughts from a new dad

Shelby is only 11 weeks and 2 days old, but it is amazing to watch her grow and learn and wonder. Just recently, in addition to having rolled over twice since Wednesday, she has become intrigued with her feet. Suzanne and I love to incline our legs and have Shelby lean back on them. Often, Shelby will lift her head and just stare at her feet. I can't help but wonder what she is thinking. Does she know those feet belong to her? Does she have control over them, even just the slightest bit?

The other day in the bath tub, Suzanne was pouring water on Shelby's feet. Shelby loved it and proceeded to lift her legs up so Suzanne would keep doing it. The funny thing is, Shelby wasn't smiling or giggling about it, but she had a serious, almost concerned look on her face. For whatever reason, she enjoyed it and was mesmerized by it...the sensation, the different feeling it gave her.

I think about times like these and am blown away knowing how much Shelby has learned, is learning, and will learn throughout this first year...this next week...in 5 years. If "knowledge is power" are we, as adults, learning as much as we can? Are we still intrigued by new feelings, different situations, and the things we see? Scientists have proven that humans use so little of their brains and that the potential for learning exists for all of us. At the same time, we, scientists and just about everybody else, realize that we are not reaching this untapped potential. I can only wonder, in awe and fear, what else I can learn and experience.

I hope that as adults we aren't afraid, too lazy, too self absorbed, to miss out on just even a fraction of what we have no idea exists.

Blogging about blogging

I really can't believe Suzanne and I have started a blog. A close friend (you know who you are) of Suzanne's commented on how she was such a good writer and that she should start her own blog. After only a few minutes of discussion and then nothing for about a day, Suzanne came home from work today with our blog page created. We are all enthused...especially Shelby. So what do you think of our first post? Hopefully it is not indicative of the quality of our blog and our future posts. We will see. Until the next post...