Christmas is upon us, and on behalf of my entire blog team I extend warm wishes to all our readers. May this holiday be a blessed one for all of you.
This has been quite a year for the Orange Juice blog. Last December I invited my friend and fellow Santa Ana resident Claudio Gallegos to join me as a co-blogger. His presence changed this blog forevermore. Today we are fortunate to have several writers from all over the county and from the left, right and middle. I thank them each for their significant contributions.
I am also thankful for our many readers. I am continuously amazed at how many hits we get every day, from all over the state and the country. It has been a humbling experience for me. The blogosphere is changing the way we conduct politics in this country, and I am honored that my team of writers is a part of it.
There are other blogs that are fancier and have more writers – but we have fun here at the Orange Juice. I for one love the back and forth dialogue on the issues of the day. The ongoing conversation is not always pretty but it is almost always enlightening.
I for one continue to learn and to grow. My positions have shifted over the last year in some respects, although I remain on the right side of the middle. I thank you all for helping me to new understandings. What is life without discovery – and without change?
I heard yesterday from an old friend I had not seen in decades. He lives in Los Angeles and he reads this blog. He told me he does not agree with my politics but he is proud of my involvement in government. Thank you Elliot, that means a lot to me. You were the first one to teach me about public service and I have not forgotten those lessons.
And yes, we are all now involved in government via the blogosphere community. I for one don’t always get it right, but I do my best and my goal remains unchanged – to inform and empower the people whom our government is supposed to serve. For us the blogosphere is the great equalizer – it allows us to have a say in a world where so often money and power trump everything else.
I imagine my team won’t be writing much today and tomorrow, and that is appropriate. This is a time for friends and family – so if you are reading this, turn off the computer and go give someone a hug! Merry Christmas to all and may the New Year be a prosperous and meaningful one for all of us, especially those of us who have not been very fortunate this year. A New Year beckons and with it comes an opportunity to start anew. May these new beginnings bode well for everyone.
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