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Contact Me:
jacquelyn.k.thompson@hotmail.com
Welcome
Hello and Welcome:
Over the summer of 2010 I began to ask myself, "what do you do if two of our Rights, as citizens of these United States, are diametrically opposed?" I came to the only viable conclusion: you compromise. Our great Nation works when there is compromise.
Right now most of you will agree with me that our political system is broken. What we currently have is: the politics of destruction; special interest groups who have the power and money to dictate policy; politicians who must spend their time raising money for the next election instead of doing the People's business; and, there are those who are so concerned about getting re-elected they cede their responsibilities to the citizenry to those groups making the loudest noises and the greatest threats.
The attacks that we were inundated with during the this election cycle belittled the democratic process. Shame on everyone involved. And, shame on the political obstructionists who are more interested in gaining and maintaining power than doing the people’s business. During these very difficult times all of us should be supporting our President. The challenge for all of us is, how do we improve upon this imperfect union that we call the United States of America? One thing I know for certain...it is not by dividing us.
I can remember when I was sixteen years old there was a day when my father called out to me, "Jackie, come quickly. You have to hear this. It's Winston Churchill. Come listen." I raced to the radio and for the first time heard a recording of Churchill's speech to a Nation standing alone against the greatest evil the world has ever known: "...we shall defend our island no matter what the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; and we shall not surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until in God's good time, the New World, with all it's power and might, steps forth to the rescue and liberation of The Old."
That day my hero was born. Where are our heroes today? jkt
This is to inform you that I respectfully decline your request of June 25, 1992 to execute and date authorizations and waivers that include, but are not limited to (i) "any privileges of confidentiality I may have concerning any information the State of Ohio...may desire to obtain from any source...specifically [authorizing] all institutions, credit agencies, law enforcement agencies, organization and individuals to make available to the State", (ii) a waiver of "the confidentiality provision of Ohio law which would otherwise prohibit...disclosure..", and (iii) the hold harmless clause.
My conscience prevents me from waiving what I deem to be my inherent right to privacy and I hereby declare that my refusal to comply with your request is guided by my strong sense of ethical principles, that if violated, would cause me deep and abiding remorse.
Jacquelyn K. Thompson
-July 9, 1992-
My friend passed away 2 days ago. He was a gentle man, a gentleman. I never heard him speak badly of anyone. He loved all of God's creatures. If he found a spider in the house, he would gently swoop it into his hand, carry it outside and release it. He loved his dogs and has volunteered at the Animal Shelter. He loved Nature and spent time in the hills of Southern Ohio and planting flowers in his yard. He was a builder; he was a handy man. He was an artist. He wasn't perfect. He had his demons and ulitmately they killed him. Sleep peacefully, Tom Fox.
Japanese workers at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex, whose cooling systems were knocked out by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11th,.began pumping more than 3 million gallons of contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean yesterday. That's in addition to the highly radioactive material that is leaking into the ocean from unknown sources .
I am convinced that mankind will not be content until it destroys all that sustains us. Dumping millions of gallons of radioactive water into the ocean? What about marine life? What about our whales and seals and seabirds and fish and coral beds?
As an aside, I quit eating fish years ago when I heard that 95% of the fish will be gone from our oceans in 50 years. That was about 15 years ago....35 to go. Not anymore. We're on the verge of an environmental disaster.
Human gluttony and greed trumps biodiversity and even life itself. Why is Japan fooling around with this? Dump cement in all of those reactors now and bury the stuff like they did at Chernobyl. This is not just a Japanese problem. The whole world should be involved in the decision-making on this and we should do whatever it takes to put an end to this testament to man's folly. And we should do it now.
Sounds at work, piercing ears,
pounding head, reduced to tears.
Blaring music, senseless chatter,
Surround sound, screaming blather.
Bouncing ball, microphone,
television, telephone.
All addicted to the noise,
on the verge I am poised.
Shut up, shut up!
Enough with the noise.
[to be continued]
Photo by Rex B. Thompson
My brother was in the Navy. He helped control the nuclear reactor on a submarine. After leaving the Navy, he went on to work for a company that trained the controllers of nuclear reactors owned by private utility companies. He always assured me that nuclear energy was safe, and cited the Three Mile Island disaster which was contained because of the design and the controls in place. He also said that it was an operator error that caused the accident, not a flaw in the system. He convinced me that nuclear power is the cleanest and the safest. Of course, that was before Chernobyl. That disaster was caused by illegal tests that were being conducted at the behest of some bureaucrat.
Now we have the nuclear crisis in Japan, which occured after an earth quake and a tsunami devastated the area. Six nuclear reactors were clustered together on the shore of the ocean on top of a fault line. Radiation is now leaking into the ocean. It has entered into the food chain and we don't know how many people have been exposed to dangerous amounts of radiation.
No, nuclear energy is not safe. Not because of the process, but because of man. There will be failure to regulate, because the Republicans hate regulations. There will be failure to fund the regulators who ensure that the reactors are safe. There will be failure because of the greed of the corporations, who own the reactors, who will cut corners to increase profits. There will be failure because of our demand for cheap energy. In other words, there will be failure because of the stupidity of man.
And if you think that none of this matters because we have coal, a scientist recently reported on the BBC nightly news that fossil fuel has done far more damage to the environment than all of the nuclear accidents put together.
We need to find alternatives and we need to do it now.
Photo
by
Jacquelyn K. Thompson
The Rev. Fletcher Harper, an Episcopal priest, recently wrote: "I've found over the years that most people have powerful spiritual experiences outdoors, experiences which move them deeply and which connect them with the divine as powerfully as anything else. These stories -- of God entering their lives through plants and animals and landscapes and storms and flowers and rocks -- are spiritual touchstones, cornerstones in the foundation of their faith. These are often the most real experiences of God with which they are blessed."
Our parks fulfill the longing in our children for adventure and exploration. By cultivating the natural curiosity and sense of wonderment in our children, we prepare them for the future. It is from a childhood well spent...days and nights filled with dreams, both real and imagined; of curiosities and longings (for what, we do not always know); of adventures, awaiting, around the next bend. It is from these children that our future leaders, our inventors and innovators, our writers and philosophers will emerge. Our parks are an integral part of the fabric of our Nation.
According to the National Park Services, Theodore Roosevelt's experiences in the North Dakota badlands shaped his adult life, helping him become the Rough Rider, the President, and the world's leading land conservationist.
Theodore Roosevelt wrote, "it was here that the romance of my life began."
As did mine in the hills of southern Ohio. -jkt-
A Federal Judge and 5 others were murdered. A U.S. Congresswoman was shot in the head, execution style, and is fighting for her life as I write this. All told 20 people were shot by one man in front of a Safeway in Tucson, Arizona over the weekend.
On December 4, 2008 I wrote a letter to my community newspaper: "I am deeply troubled by the racism and hate-mongering that is rearing its ugly head against President-elect Obama. I am sensing the same dangerous atmosphere that engulfed us in the '60s and ultimately led to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy. I say to all people of faith, put a stop to this, put a stop to this now."
Should we really be surprised that this blood bath occurred? The difference between then and now is that today there are enough guns in this country to arm every man, woman and child. Are we to walk away from yet another slaughter without doing something to end the gun violence that is engulfing our Nation? If our leaders are sincere about coming together during this tragedy, than have the courage to stand up to the gun lobby and pass some common sense gun laws.
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the
way its animals are treated." - Mahatma Gandhi
I remember when we had the mad-cow disease scare during the Bush era. President Bush and his administration barred ranchers and farmers from obtaining the kits to voluntarily test their own herds for mad-cow disease. Three cases of mad cow disease have been discovered in cattle in the U.S. between 2003 and 2008. Only 1% of cattle are tested for mad-cow disease at the slaughterhouse.
Downed cows (a symptom of mad-cow disease) being dragged into the slaughter houses, filthy conditions in meat processing plants and egg factories...the list goes on and on.
Of course we need to put in place procedures to ensure the safety of our food. And, laws are only as good as enforcement. "One in six Americans gets sick from contaminated food each year. About 128,000 end up in hospitals, and more than 3,000 die."
That is unacceptable in the United States of America. We need to get our priorities straight.
