Freedom:

Being that today is Veteran's Day here in the USA and Remembrance Day in Canada, I do want to take a moment and express my gratitude for our hard fought freedom. Recent events in our country only magnify these freedoms. The freedom to pursue education, to pursue a career, to pursue political office, to express your voice in agreement or opposition, to live where you wish, to raise your family, to pursue your dream. The list is long, yet the casualties from the struggles and battles fought in order to have this freedom is even longer. I respectfully tip my cap and offer a prayer for those who have lost their life fighting for these freedoms. I will never take these freedoms for granted. I will support our brave men and women who keep these freedoms alive and well in our country. To the members of our Armed Forces, I say... THANK YOU!

Post election thoughts:

It's November 5th. I'm sure a day of recovery from politics, especially for those that feverishly worked their precincts and counties leading up to last night's historic election. To witness an entire country so immersed in the political process was exciting. What I took away from this election was not only the passion amongst us for our candidates, but the use of the Internet in communicating this passion, as well as up to the minute news, pictures, video, even world wide reaction. Social Media played a much bigger role in this process than many anticipated. The Web 2.0 effort was a big reason for the record voter turnout. I applaud this effort! Numerous references to networks like Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, Twitter, Plurk, and the "Bloggersphere" occurred during the national media coverage of this election. Even the candidates felt it necessary in having a "2.0" presence. With this newly found voice will come what I hope is further involvement in how our country is governed and how policies are implemented and how change does indeed occur. Let's build on this platform, and passion, and continue to push for and demand change.

As a side note, thank you for reading my first blog entry. I hope as you venture upon these thoughts you will feel free to add yours as well. I open the floor for questions, suggestions, critique, etc... it's much appreciated! -es