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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

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Food Safety

                                 

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.