The Next Generation (continued)

Brooks, my nephew was born recently. He is the second in the next generation of Cheneys. He is joined by Eamon - the two cousins are the same age and we assume will share many adventures.

Brooks was born in New Jersey - at Morristown Medical Center and will be living in Chatham - a suburban town with good schools that is a 45 minute train ride outside of New York City. His mother is an attorney and his father is a technical engineer (working for Major League Baseball Network - how cool!).

To give you a sense of the world Brooks is being born into: The governor of New Jersey is Chris Christie, an outspoken and brash Republican (and major Bruce Springsteen fan) who is battling the teachers unions in order to help deal with the states' budget deficits. He has repeatedly said that he will not run for president in 2012, but has been asked often because he is a prominent and popular national Republican. Depending on what happens in 2012 (ie if Obama wins reelection), he is considered likely to run in 2016.

On the day Brooks was born, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal featured stories about Steve Jobs resigning from his post of CEO Apple - seemingly because his health is preventing him from fulfilling his duties. Also, rebels broke through into Triploli, signaling the end of Muammar Quaddafi's regime in Libya. The Libya revolution is part of an "Arab Spring" with protests, uprisings and revolutions in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Bahrain, Yemen, and Tunisia.

More importantly, Brooks was born between two significant natural disaster events: an earthquake on August 23, 2011 and a hurricane (Irene) on August 27-28, 2011. Both affected the New York / New Jersey area, although the earthquake was minor - only a 5.8 on the Richter scale at it's epicenter in Virginia. The hurricane caused some flooding, as I am sure his parents will tell him about all the time when he is older.

There are two big issues in domestic politics right now: government debt (which I think is getting more attention than it needs - it is a long term problem not a short term one) and jobs (which isn't getting as much attention as 9% unemployment deserves).

Barack Obama is president and faces reelection in November 2012; his approval ratings are currently declining. The Republican primary field is shaping up, with Rick Perry (three-term governor of Texas), Mitt Romney (former governor of Massachusetts), and Michelle Bachmann (third term Congresswoman from Minnesota) the current front runners. Other candidates include Newt Gingrich (Speaker of the House during Clinton's administration), Rick Santorum (anti-gay former Senator from Pennsylvania), Herman Cain (anti-Muslim owner of Godfather's Pizza), and John Huntsman (former governor of Utah and former ambassador to China in Obama's administration).