Among the old-time horsemen of the race track and the dyed in the wool horsemen of the Eastern Seaboard as far West as as the Mississippi, there is a term used to describe the best and most admirable traits in a horse, it is a five letter, simple word that few people can comprehend; yet, when the word is used to describe the nobility of certain horses of history, it can bring a moistening to the eyes of some of the most hardened horsemen in the world. The word is “class”, now everyone has an appreciation for the word when it is used to describe a product or behavior, it is accepted as a description of something being of a superior grade. Use the word in this manner with an old time horseman and he will look upon you as a naive child in his world.
The horse culture of North America flies beneath the radar of everyday awareness for most of North America. In the Eastern half of the country, there is a culture that has flourished for over three hundred years. The collective historical knowledge of the horse is awe inspiring for someone that can appreciate the abilities of the horseman. I often found myself working in 200 year old barns that house race horses, steeple chasers, three day horses, fox hunters, show jumpers, fine carriage and dressage horses all ridden by the same family. They thought nothing of their abilities and knowledge because they had been doing the same things on their property since the barn was built. These families are usually wealthy, but they are very open to the more humble horsemen who share the culture and have the knowledge. The West Coast Horse Culture is strictly a matter of money, making extremely wealthy children and women appear as if they know how to ride on very expensive push button horses purchased in Europe. It is a thriving business, but should never be confused with the culture of horsemen. In the Western States and Provinces, there are ranch horses, working horses that perform their jobs quite well, whether they are rope horses, mountain horses, or horses that are used in harness. The men who work these horses in solitude have no awareness of the many disciplines of the horse world, they just concentrate on the job at hand and put in a good day’s work and care for their equine partners. They know how to build a relationship with a horse and appreciate a horse with superior strength, stamina, speed, and intelligence.
These men and women, who have dedicated their lives for generations to working with the horse can intuitively recognize a superior horse; yes, they sometimes misjudge character and ability, but they have an “eye” for a horse. Some are better than others, but they all respect a superior individual and those horses are talked about for decades after their demise. These are said to be horses with class, one of the highest compliments that can be paid to a horse.
An example is an older race horse, 6 to 10 years old, often referred to as a plater or hark knocker, that has accumulated a multitude of injuries and has a maximum amount of speed that he can endure. He will often race against youngsters that have won races and are running against the old timer in races that aren’t specifically juvenile races. The older guy can often break in the lead and take command because of experience and the traces of speed from his younger days; however, it is a fact of nature that he will not be able to maintain the early speed and the youngsters will pull up to challenge him with the speed and vitality of youth.
The horse’s eye is one of the most expressive eyes on the face of the earth and it is that eye that often causes the young horse, that has the speed and air to pass that old horse, to spit the bit and stick his toes in the dirt. In other words, he didn’t have the courage to pass the old “Class” horse even though he could, not when he looked him in the eye from two feet away at 45 miles per hour.
It is this intangible, but real demarcation that is used by horsemen to describe humans as well, a human or horse without class is considered “common” or “classless”. A common or classless horse will be one that fails to do its job well and is a failure at everything, they often try to hurt people and destroy property. Jared Loughner is a classic example of a classless human; there is no logical explanation of why he should inhabit the earth and the sooner he departs this life, the sooner the earth will be a better place.
President Obama recently spoke at a memorial service for the victims of Laughner, in a tasteless and classless act, the memorial service was used to launch his reelection campaign for 2012. With the handing out of classless T-shirts he and his workers exposed the truly ugly, dirty side of his campaign and administration.
I doubt if Gabby, whom he intimately referred to, would have appreciated the campaign being launched at an event celebrating the occasion of a bullet having traveled through her skull and brain, disfiguring her face and possibly handicapping her for life. Do the campaign workers plan to drape the T-shirts over the tombstones of those killed in appreciation of their sacrifice for the reelection campaign.
In a truly classless act, Obama has set a precedent and lowered the dignity of America to new levels. This indefensible exploitation of mass murder and of the grief felt by this tragedy by launching a campaign in the aftermath of a homicidal maniac is beyond the crass behavior of those normally considered to be without class.
A professional horseman for over 50 years, Skook continues to work with horses. Skook has finished an historical novel, Fifty Thousand Years, that traces a mitochondrial line of DNA from 50,000 years ago to the present. The story follows a line of courageous women, from the Ice Ages to the present, as they meet the challenges of survival with grit and creativity. These are not women who whimper of being victims, they meet the challenges of survival as women who use their abilities without excuses or remorse, these women are winners, they are our ancestors.
Fifty Thousand Years is available in paperback and e-book, it is getting great reviews. You can purchase a copy here; Visit me on Facebook.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dylantheauthor
The only thing I have to say about the T-shirts is “Where did the money come from to buy them?”. If I read the various reports correctly the money came from U of A MONEY . . . want to tell me what that is? Is there such a thing as U of A MONEY . . . I thought this was a public insititution. So is there such a thing? Did the U of A squander several thousand dollars . . . perhaps sufficient funds to pay for the schooling of a progressive or conservative for a semester? Was this purely a public relations move on the part of the U? I guess there is a need for such worthy intentions . . . after all it is still necessary to maintain some perspectives of respect. Based on that necessity, perhaps the move by U of A could be considered worthy.
What’s sadly amusing about the t-shirt thing is that the more you look at it, the less it passes the smell test.
How, pray tell, did a slogan which appeared on the “Organizing for America” website end up on t-shirts for this event if the U of A came up with the idea all by themselves?
No, that didn’t happen by chance.
Plus, when the t-shirt vendor was asked
Now, why the necessity to say “no comment” if there’s nothing to hide?
Something’s out of kilter here.
Again…reading is fundamental there Tom.
Go back to what I originally said about the tacky souvenir t-shirts:
Where did I say that the WH “planted the t-shirts” as you allege? Where did I say that the WH was directly responsible for them?
That’s right. I didn’t say either of those things.
What I have said in subsequent comments on the matter is that the WH doesn’t allow anything to occur during presidential visits that has not been screened and approved by them up to, and including, the most minute details.
Now, if you want to get down to brass tacks and have a real conversation about accusations sans proof you can begin here and here, with others coming later on, but I seriously doubt those are conversations you really want to have.
Hmmmm….I haven’t been able to back up the claim? Really? I provided all the necessary backup in my comment.
Obie said in his speech Wednesday night that “she opened her eyes for the first time” shortly after they left the hospital.
Her doctors said that she opened her eyes on Sunday.
Now, who is a reasonable person to believe? The physicians, who have intimate knowledge of their patient? Or the president, who seems to have been searching for an emotional bit of speech fodder?
You really should slow down. Read what’s actually there. Don’t insert or delete things as you see fit and, if something is unclear to you, try asking clarifying questions rather than flinging poo against the wall to see what might stick.
@Aye: #56
If I were a tax payer in Arizona I would be asking why the university spent $60,000 of MY money on Obama T-shirts. Did they just have the money laying around and couldn’t think of any other way to spend it? I also would be asking to see the bill that the university paid, if it actually was the school that paid for them.
I suggest that anyone in Arizona check this out. If the school had paid for the shirts, wouldn’t they have there logo on it? Why isn’t there anything about the memorial ceremony or the date on the shirts? Why is it that it seems that the more things the liberals do, the more questions it creates?
@MataHarley:
In regard to the 9/11 type shirts, I don’t really have a problem with those. I do, after all, believe in capitalism. If there’s a market for them…then sell away.
There’s a big difference, however, between the two…the 9/11 shirts were not distributed to the crowd at a memorial service.
That’s what I find repugnant.
In fact, I cannot recall a single time, not once, ever seeing souvenir tees distributed at a memorial service.
Isn’t a “classless” society what the commies always said they wanted?
@Tom: #47
OBAMA IS A LIAR!!!
I am very careful when it comes to name calling. I told my kids I didn’t like it when they called someone stupid, idiot, etc., even though that was the common lingo at that time. In Obama’s case it is true that he is a liar.
There is an old religious question: If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you. I heard of one church that charged one of their members with being a Christian and had a trial for the service.
If Obama were accused of telling the truth, would there be enough evidence to convict him?
Has any program or law Obama wanted turned out to be what he said it would be? Name one.
If Obama were accused of being a liar, would there be enough evidence to convict him?
Exhibit A
Birth certificate (to be submitted later)
Exhibit B
The stimulus bill
Exhibit C
Obama Banking
Exhibit D
Obama Motors
Exhibit E
Cash for clunkers
Exhibit F
ObamaCare
Exhibit G
Memorial service for the dead and injured in ArizonaDemocratic campaign rally.If we go back to when Obama first became a politician we would have to go into the double or triple letters for the exhibits.
Show me where any of the above was what Obama said it would be. Show me a democrat’s bill that is what the title says it is. Any of them.
Obama is seeing how far he can lead his heard of donkeys without using a leash. It’s gotten so easy they will follow him anywhere, even if they have no idea where he will lead them or if there will be food or water there. What are they going to do when they are without a leader in two years? Less if one birth certificate law suit keeps advancing as it is now.
Aye, so when you write “Just as one thinks that this White House cannot descend further into the depths….they surprise us by descending into depths previously unimagined.” you’re not alleging their involvement? Forgive me for not parsing that carefully enough. Should I have used the same care you did before you made the insinuation?
As for the “opening eyes” imbroglio, you’ve conveniently failed to acknowledge any of the reasonable explanations for Obama’s announcement, of which there are many. Your knee-jerk response was that it’s a lie, perhaps a conspiracy theory. I listed, for your benefit, what a reasonable person might conclude here, such as, “It’s also possible that this was the first time she opened her eyes in front of friends and family, or the first time she opened her eyes while conscious and recognized people”. At the very least, is this not something that deserves investigation, rather than hte immediate pointing of fingers?
Perhaps you missed this article
The thing is, Aye, even if everything I’ve called you out on were to end up breaking your way, it wouldn’t change the fact that you jumped the gun without any proof. It would just be shear luck if you were right at this point (and the evidence isn’t looking good for you). You could have sat back and waited, but you decided to throw stones without facts to back them up. I don’t see how that’s any different than someone blaming Palin for Gifford’s shooting in its immediate aftermath. In the deranged Liberal’s mind, that made perfect sense, just as in the deranged Right winger’s mind, everything Obama says is a lie.
Smorgasbord,
GLUE
Seriously as to the event itself. Speech was ok. however, this bozo is “supposedly the President of the United States. As such he should have immediately toned down the crowd. One line,that’s all he needed. Instead, in my estimation he was to bust sucking up the “adoration”. As most politicians and especially those minted in Illinois, it was all about him, again my view.
After going thru everything the last few days, I find the entire thing fishy as does Skook and others. Without going off on one of my tirades, the disgust I feel towards the MSM, and the administration in general is only heightened by this latest event.
For those who think the President couldn’t bring some civility to this affair FROM THE START, please take off your rose colored glasses. This man is more than willing to use any crisis or disaster to his advantage. He did not “finally become the President” as Beck said. All he did was follow the time honored path of Chicago scum politicians. To me he was disingenuous at best. I’m sorry because I would really have liked to see it in a different light. Skook is right. At tiger doesn’t change it’s stripes. Neither has this guy
A telling sight (and site) — the president gives a speech challenging the audience, in memory of the slain, to be better people. Flopping Aces cons respond by being outrages by the t-shirts and the demeanor of the audience. You can walk someone through the forest, but you cannot force them to see the trees . . . .
MYSTERY SOLVED
Theme of “Together We Thrive” T-shirt came from Obama’s Organizing for America supporting Aye’s
As Nan G said in another thread, “do your own research”. Given time and being observent along comes a FB entry and one GOOGLE search to find this from the Canada Free Press. Now with fingers caught in the cookie jar, how long before this web entry is scrubbed from the BHO site? Click the web image for a very clear view of the date.
@Tom:
Well, I see that your intellectual ebola is still raging on.
Slowly… Let me lay this out for you again s-l-o-w-l-y…..
Everything that happens at presidential events, down to the last detail, is screened approved by the WH, specifically the Advance Office.
While the WH may, or may not, have been directly involved in the creation and distribution of the shirts, and I’ve never said they were, they either evaluated the idea and gave the nod of approval or they’re so incompetent as to not have taken notice. You can choose which of those you would like to go with.
Your claim that I accused the WH of “planting the t-shirts” is just more pure, unadulterated dog squeeze from you. My belief is that they simply used really bad judgment.
Now, on to Obie’s speech.
Obie said that she “opened her eyes for the for the first time“…on Wednesday, shortly after he left the room. He said it not once, but twice. I don’t have any crayons handy to draw you a picture, so you’ll have to make do with the video:
Watch it slowly. Repeat as necessary.
Now, again, here’s what her physicians had to say at a press briefing held on MONDAY:
Now, the last time I checked the calender Sunday precedes Wednesday.
Nope. Didn’t miss it at all. You’ll notice in my original comment that I linked to it.
Do try and keep up.
The update that you point to, which occurred after my comment causes the article to take a complete 180 degree turn from what it originally said. The update also directly conflicts with the statements of the doctors just as Obie’s speechifying does.
I’ll go with the statements of the doctors.
Listen Tom…I’ve laid it out for you over and over and over. I’ve done everything short of drawing Crayola illustrations.
If you can’t see it by now, that’s not my issue.
@Smorgs #61 –
Might I add:
Bills being online 5 days before he signs them
Absolutely no taxes going up for those earning under the $250,000 mark
After the health care bill, we will pivot to jobs [paraphrasing]
If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor
Unemployment won’t go above 8%
The health care bill won’t raise the deficit by one dime
Health care fees are not taxes
“I am immediately instituting PayGo.”
Earmarks
Gitmo
(sigh) It is sad that I ended my list because I just got tired of typing and not because I ran out of examples.
@joetote right on brother couldn’t have been said better. Everything is about him (Obummer) and I find that odd. I guess that the rose colored glasses were a big seller just like the Kool Aid or whatever these kids are doing these days. Wake up America before it is too late. There are three kinds of people in this world The ones who know what happened, those who think something happened and those who are wondering what happened. I would like to join the group of those who know what happened. He is an opportunist and even if it comes at the price of innocent victims it is a shame. I just wish the victims and their families some prayers and thoughts that are genuine and not from someone who took advantage of their situation to further themselves. That is really low.
@anticsrocks: #67
You have my permission to add them.
As I mentioned, if we list them all we would run out of single letters and have to start the AA, AB, AC, etc. letters, and maybe even go into the AAA, AAB, AAC, etc. letters. 26 X 26 = 676. If you go back to the beginning of Obama’s political career, especially since it was in Chicago, it could easily add up to more than 676.
I challenge the donkeys being lead without a leash to start there list of evidence of Obama keeping his promises. Any of them.
Exhibit A
??????
This is why I don’t usually reply to their comments if it is just the same thing over and over, which it usually is. It’s just their way of getting attention.
@CbR:
CbR, that was an excellent catch!
Just when I was being worn down by the incessant dribbling of the, ”It Wasn’t the White House’s Idea!” meme.
The Organizing for America site is a pile of manure with a few diamonds buried in it.
Obama’s team of PR/campaigners hire folks to sift through it for the goodies.
(Anyone reminded of the end of the movie, “The Magic Christian?”)
Want More Evidence Tucson Memorial Was Obama Campaign Rally? Check out the link: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/1/14/12725/0526
@Smorgas (#67): http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/
also (from a conservative): http://hotair.com/archives/2011/01/13/no-boehner-didnt-snub-memorial-rally/
@openid.aol.com/runnswim: #73
I don’t know anything about the sight linked to, except that it says it is a “2009 Pulitzer Prize winner.” That tells me they are very liberal, so I didn’t go any further than their home page. Their info could be accurate, but I am very suspicious. I am guessing Obama has kept some promises, but not the major ones.
I can give Obama a pass on the eyes opening. He is accused of saying there are 57 states. Actually he said that they had been in 57 sates and had one left to go. I thought it was stupid to harp on this statement because all of us have said things that were wrong, especially if we are thinking of more than one thing at a time. We have enough we can harp on him about. Let’s stick with the important ones.
I’m still amazed at the energy spent being offended on all this. Frankly, I’ll turn my attention to what’s likely to slide behind the closed doors in Congress…. i.e. attempts to reimplement fairness doctrine, more gun control regulation, 1st amendment rights being eroded with “perceived” threats being made criminal (who’s perception??), etal. And we still have both O’healthcare and financial “reform” (reform, my arse…) that have been enacted, and still needs to be addressed.
But tee shirts… tee shirts made up for a college organized memorial. While you all try to figure out any way to bash Obama with this all important topic, I might point out that most college campuses are heavy in liberal flavor, and were a heavy voting block for Obama in 2008. So it comes as a surprise to you that these non-original thinkers use a phrase used by OFA… then have the chutzpah to claim it as “original”? LOL
Smorgasbord, Politifact is part of the St. Pete Times. Yes, a liberal rag. But not everything they print is leftist analysis on Politifact. It can be good just to track the links and find other links as an original source… much as you might start with Wiki to get some ideas and basics, and extend your research from there.
Speaking of, from the Politifact link Larry provided above, and U of A official quotes (which are not to be confused with analysis):
Apparently Cruz wasn’t a 2008 OFA (aka the original MyBarackObama) blog follower, and the student who claimed credit sure fed him a line. But then, even OFA feeds many the same lie if they claim originality.
In 2004, a Christian empowerment group was using the same phrase. And in fact, was incorporated into their logo
The Western Mass Regional Library System has been using that same phrase as the title of their LSTA grants since 2007.
The bottom line remains…. it was an event organized by the U of A, with the tees and manufacture of the tees ordered and paid for by the U of A. The not so original name was chosen by at least one, or perhaps a bunch, of liberal college students, still glassy eyed in love with duh Zero. No doubt, they picked it up from the OFA since it’s more unlikely they heard it from the west coast library group, or the Christian empowerment group .
And who cares? Is it such an offensive message? If so, why did the Christian group choose it?
And all of this implicates Obama how??
But I’m done with this subject here. If ya’ll want to posit and wax not so poet about the U of A, or lib/Dem college students lack of taste in organizing a memorial, go right on ahead. Me? I’d rather pay attention to the stuff that genuinely matters … and frankly, I’m way worried that while this is distracting the nation and media for yet more piddly partisan fights, the big stuff is going to be ignored. If you’ll remember, this same thing happened about the time that the lame duck Dems were trying to pass the oppressive omnibus in the twilight hours. The media was waaaaaay late to the party on that one.
Pay attention, and pick your battles wisely. If you think working overtime to tie tee shirts to Obama is a wise battle, have at it. But count me out. Right now, the GOP is quite vunerable, with a grieving nation probably frothing at the bit to pass some bill that will “prevent” another Lougher. All dangerous “feel good” stuff.
On the flip side, it will weed out a few more RINOs from the pack.
Adore the sheeet out of you, dude. But I’m still waiting for a response to @my comment #41… specifically, just what “down to the last detail” you suspect that Obama and the WH were involved in for Ted Kennedy’s funeral? You said they wouldn’t care about centerpieces or table cloths, but you don’t dictate what line they will cross.
You really don’t have anything to back you up in this save for a novel, discussing Clinton policies, and a redacted Bush admin Advance Office PDF which doesn’t address similar events. What you propose as an onus on the Advance Office is simply inconceivable in time and manpower.
“Together We Thrive” from a Christian empowerment group and on a blue background no less.From the beginning making this about tee shirts was ridiculous.Krauthammer and Beck got it right in their effusive praise of Obama.To speak so eloquently about the 6 victims,I felt like I knew them, and yes Smorg , when the picture of that little girl went up and her story was told I cried unashamedly.
I can’t help you, Mata.
But I think you well recall when Obama and the White House required the covering of religious symbols when Obama came to Georgetown University to give a speech.
Now WHY they did that is up to dispute.
I can think what I want.
They can claim what they want.
They claimed they just wanted a plain black backdrop.
People have dropped Georgetown as a charity despite having gone there over the buckling of the Georgetown officials to such a request.
One piddly little detail.
But it wasn’t too small for Obama.
Nan G, an Obama speech at a University is not the same as an official state dignitary, appearing at a funeral or memorial. Those are advanced invitations screened for specific purposes, and either as a combo of political/official for policy, or just political. Not the same gig as appearing at emergency events as the Commander in Chief. Nor can anyone address what I simply ask…. just how much do you think the WH dictated details of the Kennedy funeral, where Obama presented the eulogy?
This idea that every event the POTUS appears at is a “state organized” event is ludicrous. The WH receives tons of invitations in advance for POTUS speeches…. i.e. again, the NAACP, the SEIU and the Kennedy funeral as three direct examples of different events, for different presence status. (i.e. the balance of political vs official). NAACP was a 100th anniversary event. You think they had something to commemorate that? Being an attendent of many a trade show anniversay event, I’d wager yes. And I’d also wager the WH didn’t screen that memorabilia either. This is beyond the priorities of the scheduling office. They are not professional event planners for every Joe Blow organization in America.
Aye
Everyone has a bad week, buddy. I’ve never seen you put yourself so far out on a limb without a net.
I’ll play along. Even if your ridiculously technical interpretation of “opening eyes” is true, you’ve still failed to establish (or even address) the most critical element of your argument: Obama’s knowledge of what allegedly happened on Sunday. Are you under the impression that the (count them) two papers that reported this incident are delivered to the White House? Do you honestly think when Gifford’s husband and the assembled witnesses in the room saw her open her eyes VOLUNARILY for the first time and, in their bliss, told the President, he called for a fact-finding mission? Did he start asking hard questions, demanding to see charts? Do you think he pulled the doctors aside and queried whether, in the course of their tests, a heavily-sedated and possibly comatose patient’s eyes opened when poked with a sharp instrument? God forbid, after a truly horrible week, he thought it wise to relate an inspirational anecdote to a wounded nation without proper due diligence.
@MataHarley: #75
Common sense tells me that if the school had the T-shirts made just for the event, that would have been on the shirt along with the date.
I agree with you that this is one of those minor issues that shouldn’t be dwelled on, especially since there so many dwellable Obama issues. I am only responding to comments to me about it.
Smorgasbord, I’ve never seen any photo of the tees other than them draped across a chair. So I have no idea if there is a “date” for the memorial, or a date for the actual shooting emblazoned on them.
It surely doesn’t make a difference for me. And thank you for acknowledging that this issue just doesn’t pass muster for the hysterial level it’s achieving of late. But I am curious if there are any photos of the front/back of the shirt. So far, I haven’t seen any.
BTW, this from a liberal blog, but offers further notes that ring true. The blog, like the previous incarnation of MyBarackObama blogs, were independently run, and not part of the campaign. Only part of the grassroots. Case in point in the blog of John Berry IV’s blog, using the already used phrase in question. As the MyBarackObama site always put on their blogs, those that created it are not a part of the campaign, nor are their opinions to be considered campaign created fodder. Disclosure at the bottom of all those indy blogs was:
Now, considering the fact that the phrase isn’t novel (like the Obama campaign is capable of anything “novel”….), and that it’s not an official campaign slogan, what’s all the hoo hah about, anyway? Our entire nation is founded on a belief that, as individuals and a republic (states), we are still stronger as a single “United States” unit.
Thus why I have no problem with the message. But I sure have a problem with the attention that is paid to all this. Have we now become that which we so despise? Those suffering from ODS, for any miniscule reason?
This POTUS has much to question for policy, for governance, for decisions. I don’t need no stinkin’ tees to address incompetence. So I’ll stick to the big stuff, thanks. But as long as the media can seize on this, to portray conservatives as the fools, they will. I would hope we wouldn’t play into their hands so easily.
@Nan G: #78
Our King-in-Chief ordered an F-22 fighter plane moved at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska before a speech he gave because he fought to halt production of the F-22s. An F-15 was put in its place.
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/12/02/exclusive_white_house_aides_insisted_f_22_be_removed_from_obama_speech_venue
My son is in the Air Force but doesn’t have anything to do with planes. There were two things in the story that REALLY caught my attention:
Is it any wonder that Obama is getting less and less respect from the ones who are supposed to go out and risk their lives to keep us free? Remember how Obama wants them to pay for their own medical insurance?
Aye, I thought you might like to see this:
Giffords’ Eye Opening News
Don’t congratulate me for being right, Aye. It was just Occam’s razor. My interpretation made much more sense.
@OMG:
Are you threatening people?
You are as classless as our dear leader.
hey, he could have refuse to participate on a yes CLASSLESS show and
order the whole display removed,before, this look like trash trashing having trashed being trashed