Casualties

Reader Letters

GI Record

dtd 22Jan05

Thanks for giving fired bus driver a chance to explain herself

I want to thank you for making space in your paper for a fuller explanation of the issue regarding Julianna Thompson. I was struck by her articulateness and her sense of the broader issues. As a Christian moderate it was refreshing to have an obvious conservative explore these issues in such an enlightened way. I only wish some of my more ardent liberal friends would do the same.

The only comment I have to the issue is that I wish people in leadership positions would be less "knee jerk" and more thoughtful about decisions that may have broad implications for our community. So much time, effort and money is wasted in having to "re-think" and "re-decide."

We only need to look to our county at the present time.

Thanks again for your "rag."

Bob Tyrell

Stoney Point Road

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Thompson's views were predictable and predictably uninformed

On Jan. 15, the residents of Grand Island were handed yet another nugget of infinite wisdom from Julianna Thompson. The contents of the article were predictable. You could sum it up as follows: "if you believe in secular education, you are against Christianity. Stem cell research is a crime against humanity. Scientific thought is unsupported nonsense and literature, unless it ends 'happily ever after,' contains nothing but garbage."

Please.

My nausea over such ignorant assumptions made me wonder how much Ms. Thompson really knows about the issues she so vehemently opposes. Has she ever bothered to actually investigate what stem cell research involves? And by investigate I mean to speak with a research scientist (and there are plenty of them in the Buffalo area) as to what stem cell research is really about.

Has Ms. Thompson ever read any of the volumes of information written on mathmatical theories or evolution before stating that they "lack scientific data"?

When she cited the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson to reinforce her point on the distorted view of church and state, does she know our Founding Fathers created a secular society to prevent religious persecution and abuse of pwer by religious authority?

Does she know our Founding Fathers, when establishing this country, received many of their ideas from the political and philisophical writings of people like Locke and de Tocqueville? Writings that Ms. Thompson would probably consider (and this may come as no surprise) radical and offensive.

And when preaching that voting for John Kerry is tantamount to voting to kill babies, has Ms. Thompson ever paused to wonder if our current President ever bothered to ask a pregnant Iraqi woman if she wanted to be killed or if an Iraqi child would want a limb or two blown off?

To all of the above questions, I think it's safe to say that the answer would be "no."

So, my advice to Ms. Thompson would be to:

1) Try reading books instead of condemning them.

2) If you want to exercise your right to free speech, do as you are doing now. Write articles for the entire public to read. Because when you preach your views to 9-year olds, it shows me you are unwilling to confront a person like myself who will ask questions and debate your views or you simply are not willing to stop and listen to the other side of the story.

Maisie I. Martinick

Melrose Road

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23 January 2005

Miss Maisie's Fatal Flaws

by Julianne Thompson

It's becoming a strange habit for people to put words in my mouth, and then call me ignorant for saying them. The many false assumptions, blanket generalities and lack of general knowledge in Maisie Martinick's letter of 22Jan05 may speak for themselves, but I can only hope to shed a little light by addressing some of them here.

Embryonic stem-cell research is a crime against humanity, not adult stem cell research, which has been largely successful, and doesn't require the destruction of the donor.

I don't object to secular education, I send three of my children to the public schools here.

All scientific thought is not nonsense just because evolutionary theory lacks evidence.

All literature is not garbage. Only "Of Mice and Men" is garbage, at the young high school level.

Miss Maisie's somewhat distorted interpretation regarding the Founding Fathers and secular society only reinforces my explanation of the church/state myth. Do you not think our schools, in teaching our kids to swear (using the name of God), is a form of religious persecution? After all, God's third commandment forbids us to use His name in vain. The 10 Commandments forms the basis for not only Christian, but Jewish and Muslim religions as well, so it would seem including this particular piece of garbage in the curriculum, is discriminatory, a form of persecution, and is an affront to the brunt of world religions.

Anyone who is familiar with Alexis de Tocqueville, knows his observations of America caused him to conclude that her greatness was inextricably linked to her morality, which was most assuredly derived from her collective religious beliefs. The assumption that I would find his or John Locke's writings offensive or radical is strange, if not outrageously ignorant. But perhaps Miss Maisie has read something I haven't, in which case, I hope she shares it. Also, de Tocqueville never arrived in America until the 1830's, so it's doubtful, if not impossible that our Founders were influenced by his writings. My guess is most of them were dead by then.

In the process of obeying God's command to care for the widows, comfort the broken-hearted, and liberate the oppressed, casualties are inevitable in wars. The billion dollar abortion industry here in the U.S. is fed in large part by the harvesting of body parts from live fetuses -- not for life-saving procedures, but for research. And we don't even supply them with anesthetic. My son said, "We don't even disect live frogs." Is your emotional upset over limbs lost in the Iraqi liberation (right or wrong) perhaps a little misplaced?

De Tocqueville wrote that "America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great." Can greatness be found in killing our offspring and calling it Choice? Is there any good in harvesting body parts, and creating life to destroy it, to no good end? I suspect, were he alive today, the astute Frenchman would be very disappointed to learn that America has lost a significant piece of her inherent goodness: her respect for life.

P.S. Thank you, Mr. Tyrrell

Mrs. Julianne Thompson

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30 December 04

Mythical Beasts

by Julianne Thompson

I am very encouraged by the letters written to support and oppose my sharing of facts about embryonic stem-cell research (ESCR)* with students on my schoolbus. With respect to the opposition:

In the first letter (Dispatch, 10Dec04), when Mrs. Rose's daughter announced that she was not voting for John Kerry because he kills babies, it should be noted that those words never came from me. After I briefly described the nature of the failed research, the children asked which presidential candidate supported it, and which didn't. When properly informed, Mrs. Rose's daughter apparently decided that John Kerry was guilty through association, and that he did not comfortably fit into her world of good and right. Far from being "damaged", this young girl sounded determined, and Mrs. Rose needs to be commended for raising such a bright and perceptive child. We should all have such resolve.

In the second letter (GI Record, 25Dec04), I am unsure as to why Mr. Steffan assumes I would object to someone sharing bits of a comedic diatribe against the Ten Commandments, or yet another uninformed opinion from Newsweek disputing the historical record of Christ's birth. In a free society, we're entitled to our opinions, and for as often as I hear offensive views and say nothing, I believe I am very tolerant. Where Mr. Steffan clearly misses the mark, is that I shared facts of a scientific nature, not opinion. How "not a single cure in 23 years of research" translates into "astounding results" is beyond me, and I suspect his NASA analogy would work if its primary goal was to land a man on Mars. The goal of ESCR is to find cures, to which none have been found. But after muddling through Mr. Steffan's false presumptions and unsupported favor of the failed research, alas, we find, we agree. "Dangerous" and "treacherously unorthodox" is a fitting translation of the belief that creating life to destroy it is an egregious violation of natural law. Why the school district, among whose missions are to foster social responsibility, finds such mutually agreed upon folly unacceptable to speak about, and worthy of dismissal, is also beyond me. But now that I've been engaged in this debate, there are a couple of other matters that concern me....

When ninth graders are subjected to the viewing of profane material such as "This Boy's Life" without parental consent, or forced to read "Of Mice and Men" whose pages are filled with profanity, it's no wonder vile language is rampant in the schools. This "classic" by the way, contains numerous examples of truly aberrant behavior, including that of the "hero", who commits a mercy killing of a deranged man, essentially endorsing disdain for life, and disregard for the law. Interestingly, in oral readings, students are expected to use the Lord's name in a vain, offensive manner. Yet, the students are also told they are not permitted to talk about Jesus, in a favourable way, during school hours! Disregarding the fact that The New England Primer, which taught the alphabet using scripture, was used in American public schools for over 100 years, these educators might try to tell you that the law, and the separation of church and state prohibits religious speech in schools. Sadly, most of them actually believe it. In reality, those words can't be found in any one of our founding documents. They can, however, be found in a private letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury, Connecticut Baptist Association, when the group became concerned their new government might mandate adherence to a single state religion. Jefferson assured them that government may not restrict, prohibit or mandate the practice of any one religion, using the now famous and hugely distorted church/state phrase. In point of fact, the current distortion, commandeered primarily by the ACLU (otherwise known as the Anti-Christian Liberation Unit), actually flies in the face of the very liberties he assured them they were entitled to, as a free people.

While on the subject of the church/state myth, how a GIHS (or any other) teacher can successfully impart the Origins of Man by perpetuating the belief in evolution, which has come to clearly lack scientific data to support it, while blatantly ignoring the increasing scientific evidence of immortality, is just, befuddling. In the absence of evidence, belief in evolution is without a doubt, a clear example of Secular Humanism. Because the U.S. Supreme Court has named Secular Humanism a religion (Torcaso v. Watkins, 1961), the teaching of evolution constitutes the teaching of a religion. How then, is this belief any more valid, or legally acceptable than Creationism?

As people of faith, my husband and I believe we have adequately enabled our children to sift through the onslaught of political correctness, religious intolerance, "classic" garbage, and whatever other agenda is being imparted, mostly at the high school level. I am also most assuredly grateful for the exceptional teachers who have made my job as a parent a little easier. I am just not sure how well-protected others children are.

I can only advocate an all-inclusive curriculum, and encourage parents to step up to the plate, because you see, I cannot be your spokesman. While you continue to pay $97,438 salary to a man who has admitted to felony charges, I've been abruptly deprived of my $9000, for sharing facts. A little pressure can go a long way! What started as a letter to the editor of the Dispatch, then forwarded to the Buffalo News, became an AP news story, going out all across the US and abroad. I interviewed on radio stations in Tennessee, Colorado and Illinois, which reached at least 40 states, and have arranged to go on a national television program. All because some people are intolerant of the truth.

You see, most people don't understand the violation of free speech, and whether the subject matter is fodder for schoolchildren outside of the classroom, can be, and is being widely debated. But "termination"? They don't get it, and neither do I, especially in the absence of guidelines as to what constitutes acceptable speech. Lawyers, including the Alliance Defense Fund, have offered to represent me in a lawsuit, but always the optimist, I am holding out hope the School District will recant. If a clear policy had been in place, and I happened to find it objectionable, I could have challenged it in an appropriate setting, before the School Board. As it is, it's being debated in a very wide, open forum, and in my opinion, because of Grand Island's intolerance, America itself loses credibility, as the champions of liberty, democracy and freedom of speech.

*to be distinguished from adult stem cell research, which has been largely successful, and does not require the destruction of the donor.

Julianne Thompson

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27 November 2004

Casualties of the Culture War

by Julianne Thompson

A few weeks ago, I read an interview with Mel Gibson, wherein he explained that in 23 years of embryonic stem cell research, we haven't found a single cure for any disease - ever. Not one life has been saved. But in using adult stem cells, we've found over 300,000 cures. I was stunned, and as a schoolbus driver, I shared it with my students. I did not express an opinion, I shared a scientific fact, and I encouraged the students to share it with their parents. They did, and after some apparently uninformed discussion, a couple of parents brought their twisted rendition to the Grand Island School District, and demanded my dismissal. It would seem they needed to strengthen their case, so they then fabricated a lie about lack of control, and students standing while the bus is in motion, which simply doesn't happen on my schoolbus. Without warning, and after two and a half years of spotless service, the school district submitted to their infantile demands, and promptly fired me.

Boy, did I learn my lesson. I learned that free speech is definitely not free, that education stops at the schoolbus door, and that either political correctness, or the irrational rantings of a tiny, vocal minority supersedes reason, facts and truth. The strongest language that was used to justify my dismissal was "inappropriate". I then asked, reasonably enough, "What was inappropriate about it?", but have yet to receive a response.

If millions of people in California voted on it by referendum, why is it off-limits to speak about it with students? And if such facts were provided the students by their health or science teacher, would anyone care? I have learned since then, that the use of embryonic stem cells causes only cancers, cysts and tumors.

In the midst of all the misplaced outrage, is the story of the sad and disturbing success of a fraudulent social "conscience" that devalues life in favor of demonstrably failed science, wasting billions of dollars in the process, and one that pretends to champion tolerance, but punishes reasonable discourse. Memo to the Schools: Submitting to terrorist demands rewards ignorance, and utilizes a most ineffective conflict resolution technique.

Whether it's the sheer joy gained from pilfering one's meager sustenance, or just a post-election tantrum, those parents, and the educators and administrators who should know better, are the real victims in this culture war. To be continually and easily bamboozled by liberalism's ideological nonsense is not a level of discernment (or lack thereof) that should be admired, aspired to or encouraged.

Our children, sadly, may be the biggest casualties of all. How can we expect them to grow into rational, objective adults, if we ourselves refuse to tolerate logic, or dissent from our own narrow view? How can we expect honesty, when we use lies to sweeten our case against those we oppose? The school district, in enabling the minority, has sent a message that those who stamp their feet the loudest win, and has paved the way for an irresponsible, amoral, ill-bred and disobedient generation. Sounds like anarchy.

As one of the responsible citizens of Grand Island, with a hefty tax burden and a stake in the future, I encourage you to stamp your feet. Loudly.