Free speech is our goal – but not at the cost of our civility

I’d like to take a moment to thank all of our readers for taking the time to be part of our immediate blogosphere. I had a feeling that inviting Claudio Gallegos to serve as my co-blogger would open things up a bit – but I had no idea how busy our blog site would become, nor how quickly. We owe that to our readers, and I am most grateful. I am also very impressed with Claudio’s work – we don’t always agree but he offers a nice counterbalance to my own viewpoints.

I must however implore my readers to at least try to keep it clean. I know that I also have on occasion crossed the line, and I am sorry about that. Politics can get heated and it is difficult to always keep one’s emotions in check. Nevertheless, I appeal to each of you to continue to post your thoughts, but try to avoid blatant insults. I promise I will try to do the same.

Recently a fellow blogger from another site was excoriated in a particularly nasty fashion, in this site, by an anonymous blogger. Of course he took umbrage and he asked me why I let the post go forward. To be honest, Claudio and I no longer moderate the posts here at the Orange Juice. We haven’t the time to do so. Thus our forum is truly an open one. For that reason, it is incumbent on all of us to think twice before we post our messages. There are no mulligans here!

Again, thank you all for making our blog a happening site here in Orange County. I am proud that we have so many commentators from all sides of the political spectrum. It makes for a lively debate – and that is refreshing given the polarity that exists in so much of the blogosphere. Keep on reading and posting – I may not respond to all your posts, but I do read them all.