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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

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Elitism vs Intelligence

When I was young, we revered education. My father introduced me to art, to music, to philosophy and even demanded that I take science courses "because, Jackie, everyone needed to have an understanding of the world in which we live". When Dad announced that I was going to take advanced algebra and physics, I cried and I pleaded to no avail. I was rotten at it. But in the end, It instilled in me a respect for scientific inquiry and the advances that have been made because of it.  

How did it happen that the Republican Party embraces superstition over science? If the evidence is there to support the scientific findings, then we should embrace them, not deny them. I am so enthralled by everything we have learned and by everything to be learned. Let us return to those heady days of the sixties when we truly believed that nothing was impossible and our mission was to "boldly go where no man has gone before". Somewhere along the way we took a wrong turn and we need to get back on track.