Today is a somber memorial of the horrors that befell our nation and the world on 11 September 2001; a date in which a shadowy enemy, in an unprecedented fashion, attacked our great nation. In these memorial services many of our nations leaders spoke to the families and friends of loved ones lost in this horrific attack. In addition, they spoke to the world. The little bit I watched, including Rice, Meyers, and Rumsfield, was moving and appropriate. I say appropriate because these speeches were heartfelt and not filled with policy rhetoric and war mongering. I especially enjoyed Rumsfield’s speech in which he got choked up twice; certainly something I can’t remember seeing in any previous speeches by Rumsfield or other administration or government officials anytime in the recent past. These past few years have been difficult; with the 911 attacks, one war, one invasion/occupation, more attacks, a natural disaster that appears to be of biblical proportions, and on and on. Today I want to embrace the friendships that I have developed on this medium across the state of South Carolina, as well as across the nation (those on but not limited to my blogroll to the left). My local political enemies at MUSC Tiger, Arguing with Signposts (hey, bush is the one who said it budd), the Backcountry Conservative...; and my political allies at Cracked the Bell, Public Domain Progress, Democracy for America – Charleston, LaurinLine, A lie a Day... It is a privilege and an honor to share cyberspace (the internets) with all of you and certainly anyone I’ve left out. It is through this medium where discussions are held, feelings, ideas, and beliefs are expressed, and freedom and democracy rage. It is through this discourse that full spectrums of ideals are addressed and, in theory, truth permeates. As John Stuart Mill once stated

"...the general or prevailing opinion on any subject is rarely or never the whole truth, it is only by the collision of adverse opinions that the remainder of the truth has any chance of being supplied."

Thank you, to you all (y’all).