Rabble Rouser Ruminations

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Saved By A Horse

Anyone who has read me regularly knows how much I love horses, and animals in general. This is a lifelong love affair I've been having, though it was interrupted by time spent up North, going to school, and all of that. Oh, and my knees, which ended my riding career back in high school (and no, I cannot ride with the knee replacement, either, sad to say). There is just something about horses that is, well, not to sound trite, but magical.

Because of my love of horses, my old friend, Connie, sent me the following LA Times article by Bill Dwyre, "Old Racing Horse Is A Winner With Autistic Boys." It is not news, of course, that animals are helpful to children with all kinds of issues, from cerebral palsy to autism. Heck, therapy animals are pretty much standard at many hospitals and nursing homes (where my mom was, there were a couple of dogs, and a cat).

This story really touched my heart, though, and I wanted to share some of it with you:

In horse racing terms, Grant and Greta Hays have had a rough trip. They have two young children, both severely autistic.

"After we had Jack, we wanted to have another child," Grant Hays says. "We thought the odds of having a second with autism were really low."

Jack is 6, Dylan 2. Neither speaks, except on rare spontaneous occasions. According to their father, they are antisocial kids, which is not unusual with autistic children. Grant says it creates a life of stress and tension, and cites research that says something like 85% of parents with autistic children get divorced.

The marriage of Grant and Greta apparently is going in the other direction. This is the story of how and why. It is also the story of a big, old gelded thoroughbred named Spot the Diplomat, who, through a series of coincidental circumstances, has carried this family to its own winner's circle.

[...]

He was owned most recently by Summit Racing, of which Bob Ike, nationally known handicapper and columnist, is a partner.

After two strong races this spring for Summit, Spot fractured a sesamoid in a workout and his racing career, but not his life, was over. While he healed on a nearby farm, Ike and his partners started thinking about a permanent home for him.

Spot had a decent career as a racehorse, though, as the article points out, not one that will land him in the Hall of Fame. But with his career cut short by injury, the owner had to find somewhere for him to go (and thank heavens that is the route the owner chose). So, how did this family see Spot run (couldn't resist)? Through work, as it turns out:

Ike occasionally filled in on one of the Sunday morning racing shows on AM 830, where Grant Hays was a producer. Hays knew lots about radio, but little about racing. But he, like an entire nation, had been captivated by the Zenyatta story and had started to pay attention.

Last spring, Hays took his family to a horse ranch in Texas run by author Rupert Isaacson, whose book on autistic children interacting with animals, "The Horse Boy," was made into a movie. The Hays family spent time around animals and began to see the positives of interaction that Isaacson wrote about.

This is the first I have heard of this book and the movie. Perhaps you have heard of them already. I know I'll be checking them out. Back to the Hays family:

"Jack speaks no words," Grant Hays says, "but we got off the plane and he turned to me and said, 'Texas.' I was stunned."

The family stress level decreased dramatically there, but went right back to normal when they returned to Los Angeles. Hays asked another of the radio hosts, Jay Privman, about the chances of taking his sons to see Zenyatta. Privman arranged it, Zenyatta was quiet and gentle with the boys and they returned for another visit. Trainer John Shirreffs soon had them up and riding on a stable pony.

That experience convinced Hays that his family needed a more rural life. He was also convinced that he needed animals, and probably a horse, for his sons. Deciding to live off savings for awhile, he leased a three-acre plot south of Austin, Texas, and started shedding the trappings of life in L.A.

"We got rid of four TV sets," he says. "We live in a single-wide mobile home. It is a lot less than we were used to in L.A."

In a conversation with Ike before he left, Hays said he was looking for a horse. Ike said he and his partners had one.

They all went to see Spot the Diplomat at his rehab farm near Murrieta.

"Jack stood directly behind the horse," Ike says. "I was kind of scared. Thoroughbreds can be touchy. But the horse never flinched, and I knew then that this might work."

Grant Hays says, "Dylan ran under his legs and Spot never twitched."

Zenyatta - what a wonder she is. Her reputation of being gentle is once again confirmed.

Anyone who has been around horses knows can understand Hays' concern. Things happen with horses that can be unexpected. A fly can be biting, and the horse will raise it's leg to get it off. I was clocked by my horse while grooming him because he shifted position while I was brushing his foreleg and my head was in the way. It wasn't his fault, it was mine. (And yes, I learned my lesson from that one.) The most experienced horse people can have things happen when a horse gets spooked, or doesn't feel well, or is cranky or whatever the case may be. Especially a race horse, which can often be highstrung. That is why this is so remarkable.

But horses are also smart, and like the dog who comes and places her head on your knee when you are upset, or the cat who lifts you up by their antics, horses can be a rock, a steadfast companion, a therapist, if you will:

Spot the Diplomat had a new home. The Hays family had another 6-year-old. The horse was shipped to Texas, paid for by Summit Racing, in late August. That was a month after the Hays family had arrived.

"In Los Angeles, we were a stressed-out family," Hays says. "Now, we are all happy. The boys are constantly with Spot. They play around him, ride him, sometimes sit on him for two or three hours at a time.

"He is an angel. He is perfectly behaved at all times. He's protective of the kids. It's almost phenomenal."

Hays says they have found a place where his children are happier. He says all the doctors and specialists they saw provided very little direction and insight.

"So we created our own world," he says... (Click HERE to read the rest.)

I completely understand. Even though I can no longer ride, there is something about being in the company of a horse. You would not believe me if I told you how much I pay a month to stable my horse, Jordan, and for all of his medicines and supplements (he turns 28 in January), but I can say this: it is worth every penny. I would pay twice as much for the joy, the comfort, the sheer delight I get in seeing him, in grooming him, just taking him in (as well as visiting with the other horses, mini horses, and pony at the stable). No matter the cost, no matter the joint pain for me (knees, shoulders, back), no matter what, it is worth it for this:

Sounds like the Hays family feels the same way. They are another family saved by a horse...

Monday, November 29, 2010

Sec. Clinton And Eric Holder Speak Out On WikiLeaks BREAKING NEWS!

One would have to have one's head buried in the sand or on a remote island to not have heard about the most recent leaks of classified cables by WikiLeaks of U.S. diplomacy. These documents exposed private conversations by diplomats regarding allies of the United States, and not always in the most glowing of fashions. That is to say, in common parlance, there was a whole lotta smack talked about some of our close international friends.

This vast amount of classified information was collected by Private Manning on cds he took into work with him, pretending they were Lady Gaga cds. Oops.

Are you kidding me? It is really that easy to obtain classified information?

Well, it won't be anymore. The State Department has jumped on this, and is working to set up safeguards lest this happen again. As one would expect, Secretary Clinton is having to address these cables, as well as attempt to mend fences with those leaders who didn't come off too well in the discussions of diplomats as revealed.

Secretary Clinton had this to say on Monday regarding the leaks:

Secretary Clinton isn't the only one speaking out about the impact and ramifications of the recent information dump by WikiLeaks. Eric Holder had this to say:

Uh, yeah. He's not too happy about it, either, especially in terms of the safety of assets in the field. That is a real, and critical, concern.

This is no small thing, this release of classified cables, on a number of levels. Time will tell how the chips will fall from this, especially in terms of the diplomats themselves and their ability to do their jobs (a number of news commentators have focused on this critical issue, from CNN to Fox); what will happen to Pfc. Bradley Manning, who is already facing the possibility of many years in prison; and what, if anything, will happen to Julian Assange, the head of WikiLeaks who released this information.

Stay tuned...

Saturday, November 27, 2010

A Message To The Media From Sarah Palin

Well, the MSM is at it again - jumping on the slightest little blip by anyone but Obama. We saw this time and time again with Hillary Clinton, especially when she exaggerated her flight into Bosnia. Oh, the media was like a dog with a big ol' juicy bone - they just could not, WOULD not, let that one go. But Obama's malpropisms? WHAT malaprompisms, they seemed to be saying?

Indeed, their failure to report on them was staggering. One of my brothers just left my house, and he had never heard any of the things Obama said. You know, like the above-referenced "57 states," and more.

Well, this time, or should I say, once again, the MSM has targeted Sarah Palin. Why? Because she had a slip of the tongue in the midst of a discussion on North Korea attacking South Korea, one she quickly corrected. Not that any of THAT matters. Heck, Obama had to be TOLD that he said there were 57 states. He didn't catch his mistake (one of many). Nope. Not at all. But, hey - don't let that change how they actually REPORT the news. Rather, they prefer to make the news, as they did with Palin's misstep recently.

So, Palin has a little something for the media to help them along. Yes, she has compiled some of Obama's greatest hits for them in this Facebook message:

A Thanksgiving Message to All 57 States
by Sarah Palin on Thursday, November 25, 2010 at 8:46pm
My fellow Americans in all 57 states, the time has changed for come. With our country founded more than 20 centuries ago, we have much to celebrate – from the FBI’s 100 days to the reforms that bring greater inefficiencies to our health care system. We know that countries like Europe are willing to stand with us in our fight to halt the rise of privacy, and Israel is a strong friend of Israel’s. And let’s face it, everybody knows that it makes no sense that you send a kid to the emergency room for a treatable illness like asthma and they end up taking up a hospital bed. It costs, when, if you, they just gave, you gave them treatment early, and they got some treatment, and ah, a breathalyzer, or an inhalator. I mean, not a breathalyzer, ah, I don’t know what the term is in Austrian for that…

Of course, the paragraph above is based on a series of misstatements and verbal gaffes made by Barack Obama (I didn’t have enough time to do one for Joe Biden). YouTube links are provided just in case you doubt the accuracy of these all too human slips-of-the-tongue. If you can’t remember hearing about them, that’s because for the most part the media didn’t consider them newsworthy. I have no complaint about that. Everybody makes the occasional verbal gaffe – even news anchors.
Obviously, I would have been even more impressed if the media showed some consistency on this issue. Unfortunately, it seems they couldn’t resist the temptation to turn a simple one word slip-of-the-tongue of mine into a major political headline. The one word slip occurred yesterday during one of my seven back-to-back interviews wherein I was privileged to speak to the American public about the important, world-changing issues before us.

I admit - I roared with laughter over Palin not having enough time to write up all of Biden's gaffes - no kidding - I don't have that kind of time, either, and I think I have way more time than the ever busy Gov. Palin. Anywho - I get her point - only with someone like her (or Hillary, or anyone who is not Obama or Biden), a slip of the tongue becomes an international scandal. Wow.

Here's the thing - once again, the MSM failed to actually do their job:

If the media had bothered to actually listen to all of my remarks on Glenn Beck’s radio show, they would have noticed that I refer to South Korea as our ally throughout, that I corrected myself seconds after my slip-of-the-tongue, and that I made it abundantly clear that pressure should be put on China to restrict energy exports to the North Korean regime. The media could even have done due diligence and checked my previous statements on the subject, which have always been consistent, and in fact even ahead of the curve. But why let the facts get in the way of a good story? (And for that matter, why not just make up stories out of thin air – like the totally false hard news story which has run for three days now reporting that I lobbied the producers of “Dancing with the Stars” to cast a former Senate candidate on their show. That lie is further clear proof that the media completely makes things up without doing even rudimentary fact-checking.)

“Hope springs eternal” as the poet says. Let’s hope that perhaps, just maybe, they might get it right next time. When we the people are effective in holding America’s free press accountable for responsible and truthful reporting, then we shall all have even more to be thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

- Sarah Palin

Love her, hate her, or be indifferent toward her, this continued faux outrage, this one-sided reporting by the Mainstream Media has got to stop. One would have thought that maybe, just maybe, the expose of the JournoListers shaping the news to benefit Obama from the get-go would have made the MSM act a bit more like professionals. Especially their acknowledgment that they intentionally went after Palin because she was a force with which to be reckoned, so they wanted to take her down.

But no. None of that happened. They have just gotten worse and worse. Perhaps they figured since the cat was out of the bag, what the hell? They might as well go all in. Except that isn't journalism. That is the stuff of tabloids.

I mean, really - the AP - the ASSOCIATED PRESS - writes an entire article on the conspiracy of conservative bloggers to keep Bristol Palin on "Dancing With The Stars" - after the finale. Maybe, just maybe, people were sick and tired of the MSM going after this 20 yr old because of who her mom is, or two of the judges routinely giving her lower scores even though her technique was better than some of the other dancers (a concept backed up in the AP article as well). Oh, yes - the Associated Press quotes a mathematician, Jason Gershman of Nova Southeastern University in Florida, who referred to her dancing as "mediocre." Sure would like to see THAT mathematician try to dance on this show. Then again, maybe not.

Let's just take a little gander at Professor Gershman, he of the dancing judging(you don't have to listen to him if you don't want to - just take a look):

Uh, yeah - who is HE to critique Bristol's dancing? I doubt he could come even close to what she accomplished in 10 weeks.

But I digress. In all honesty, I am pretty worried about what has come of the media in this country. If it's not Sarah, it's Hillary. It's whoever they have decided they want to diss to accomplish their endgame. And that is disturbing to me in a big way.

So, good for Governor Palin for highlighting the numerous gaffes of Barack Obama, and the MSM's failure to acknowledge same, while attacking her for a slip of the tongue. Someone's got to do it, right?

Thursday, November 25, 2010

A Day To Give Thanks

Thanksgiving is not just a day to give thanks, it is also about love, when you think about it, don't you think? Opening up the heart to gratitude opens it up to love and other blessings:

"The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!"

Thus spoke the Unitarian minister, Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, back in the early 1800's, though his words are just as important today - especially today - as ever.

In these times, these difficult economic times, it may seem like there is less and less for which to be thankful for too many people. And yet, in my experience, it is often those who have the least who seem to be the most grateful. Perhaps it is their knowledge of how fleeting the more material things can be, how once gained, they can be lost in the blink of an eye. One layoff, one accident, one illness can rid us of all we have worked so hard to achieve.

The words of H.U. Westermayer bring the struggles that many of us face into some perspective:

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.

Well, except those who were already living on that land. But I get the point, and trust you do, too. And those Pilgrims were joined in this cerebration, this giving of thanks, by those who were there before them, the original inhabitants. Indeed, almost twice as many Native Americans as Pilgrims. The Native Americans helped the Pilgrims during their first year here, an amazing occurrence for these two peoples who must have looked so strange to the other when they met. But help them they did, and despite the massive losses the Pilgrims suffered that first year, they stopped to give thanks, for three days.

The reality of the Pilgrims does not diminish the plight in which too many Americans, and others around the world, are living today. But it does give a bit of perspective into the original Thanksgiving, doesn't it? And says a lot about human nature. Suffice it to say, Americans have suffered, from those who first lived off this land (and who then suffered so much, from diseases they had never experienced before to the loss of their way of life, quarantined by the government on reservations, after tremendous loss of life of numerous tribes), to others who came to seek a better life, to those of us here today. But through it all, we have also made a point of giving thanks, even during the hardest of times.

On this Thanksgiving Day, let us remember those who are alone and lonely, those who are in mourning, those in need, and those who are hungry when many of us will be eating too much. May we remember to be mindful of others, kind in the face of anger, calm in the face of aggression, grateful for what we have, no matter how much or how little, that we are alive, and that we are loved.

I imagine that many you will be traveling to join loved ones for this holiday, this time to give thanks for all the blessings in your lives. The following song by Cheryl Wheeler is for you:

No rush - try to enjoy the drive as another part of the journey, the one taking you to the door of those you love, and the bigger journey that is life.

I leave you with the words of another Unitarian minister, Ralph Waldo Emerson:

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

Amen and amen.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Travel safely.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

IsThe HRC Bullying Willow Palin?

You may have heard about a recent outbreak of trash-talking on Facebook between Willow Palin and a young man who allegedly went to school where the Palins do, Tre. Tre was talking smack about Willow's mom after the premier of the TLC show, "Sarah Palin's Alaska." (Palin's show was the most watched premiere in TLC history, garnering 5 million viewers.) Willow took umbrage, and used a couple of homophobic slurs in her responses to him, calling him "gay," and the f-word (the 6 letter one, that is). Apparently, Bristol weighed in, too, though did not use similar language.

Yikes.

Bristol regained her composure, though, and wrote this:

[snip] "Willow and I shouldn't have reacted to negative comments about our family. We apologize. On a nicer note, thank you for supporting the great competition in Dancing With the Stars!"

Needless to say, this has raised a firestorm about Willow, and the Palins in general. The HRC has been one such organization to take aim at 16 year old Willow, though not everyone in the blogosphere is happy about that:

Some bloggers have said that as a minor, Willow should be off-limits. They also said the Palin cub was simply defending her "mama grizzly" in the inappropriate and misinformed style of a teenager.

"Willow Palin is a child, and she is not fair game," Tommy Christopher wrote at Mediaite. "Willow and her Facebook playmates weren't thinking about the rash of suicides related to anti-gay bullying, including young kids who were not, in fact, gay. They didn't create a world where gay equals unequal, they are a product of it." [snip]

Now you know I am not condoning anyone using that kind of language. Not even close. But, I do know that using those kinds of slurs are common with young people. That does not excuse it, but it is a reality, unfortunately. Heck, my own godson, who has TWO out lesbian godmothers, has been known to say things like, "that's so gay." He's not the only one - other friends of mine have used that phrase to me, but claim it isn't intended as an insult. Um, well, maybe not, but it is.

Anyway, that is all to say, Willow is 16. I said some pretty stupid stuff at 16, too, but I didn't have it writ large on a national level. Again, not excusing it in any way, shape, or form, but I do see how it can happen. And how it is NOT a reflection on the parents themselves.

Two prominent gay and lesbian conservatives are furious with HRC and their attacks on Willow Palin. In this Daily Caller article, "Bigotry: The Selective Outrage Of The Gay Left," Tammy Bruce and Christopher R. Barron go after HRC.

As an aside, you may recall that I was a long, long time member of the HRC - over 25 years - until they endorsed Obama over Hillary Clinton. They had just presented Clinton with a huge award for her work on behalf of the LGBT community, and they endorse the man with the virulently homophobic associates - Meeks and McClurkin come to mind - instead. Wow.

Anyway, back to the article, and the response from these two GOProud members:

For days now, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), which holds itself out as the “largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization,” has shamefully used the issue of anti-gay bullying as part of a cheap political smear against former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. HRC, never shy about doing the bidding of the Democratic Party, issued a November 18th release blaring, “HRC to Sarah Palin: Two Days of Silence, Will You Speak Up?” Is this a release demanding Palin speak out about an issue of substance affecting gay people? No, this childish call-to-arms is about trash talk issued by a 16-year-old in a flame war on a social networking site.

The “controversy” surrounding inappropriate language used by the Palin daughters on Facebook shows again how selective the gay left is in expressing outrage over perceived “bigotry.”

Politicizing the serious issue of anti-gay bullying in order to score political points is morally reprehensible. Bristol apologized on behalf of herself and her younger sister — and that apology should be the end of the story, but it’s not because the real target of this faux outrage is Sarah Palin, a woman who represents an existential threat to both political machines.

No one is condoning the use of obscenities or derogatory terms, but no one who has seen the Facebook exchange in question can seriously claim this behavior had anything to do at all with “bullying.” It also has nothing to do with Willow Palin or the substance of what she wrote. Make no mistake; this is all about destroying Sarah Palin by friends of Obama and by any means necessary.

The irony here is stunning. The adults who run HRC are participating in a morally-reprehensible organized political hatchet job on a teenager all in the name of defending the victims of bigotry. [snip}

Can the case be made that the HRC is itself engaging in bullying against a child? And if so, it seems the motive is likely political:

[snip] The nature of the attacks on Palin reveals much about what motivates her critics. HRC’s press releases are ripe with misogynistic attacks on the Governor. HRC refers to the Governor as a “reality TV show star” — a transparent attempt to diminish Palin’s almost 20 years in politics. In a November 17th release, Joe Solmonese, the man at the helm of HRC, made a thinly veiled accusation that the Facebook exchange somehow showed Palin failed as a mother — “Anti-gay language by teenagers often starts at home…” [snip]

The authors discuss how that is not quite accurate - as I noted above, it is unfortunately far too common in our schools to use this kind of language. Sad, but true, even among those who should know better.

Bruce and Barron then target the Gay Left for their silence in regard to the homophobic, misogynistic tenets of radicalized Islam:

[snip] Last June, when President Obama delivered his much ballyhooed speech to the Muslim world in Cairo, he made no mention of the treatment of gays and lesbians living under Muslim regimes — even though in Egypt, the country where Mr. Obama spoke, gays have been subject to arrest and imprisonment for simply being gay. The reaction from the gay left? Nothing. No outrage, no harshly worded statements, and certainly no around-the-clock vigil waiting for an apology.

Last September, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bravely took to the floor of the United Nations and criticized the treatment of gay people in Iran. After speaking with such moral clarity about the need to protect gay people from violence and death, if you expected praise from the gay left you would be wrong. Indeed, the powers that be at HRC pretended like Netanyahu’s speech never even happened.

The behavior of the gay left, and in particular HRC, is shameless and disgusting. Governor Palin certainly does not owe anyone associated with HRC an apology; indeed it is HRC who should apologize. They should apologize to Governor Palin for their vicious and unfounded smear, to the real victims of anti-gay bullying who they have cheaply exploited, and to gay people world-wide for the blind eye they have turned to the barbaric treatment of gays by radical Islamic regimes. (Click HERE to read the rest.)

Interesting comparison, is it not? How is it that the Left now thinks its cool to support radical (not moderate) Islam that treats women as worse than chattel, and gays even worse than that, yet take on a teenager for some crap she wrote on Facebook. One could argue their priorities are a bit skewed.

Again, by no means do I condone the language used by Willow on Facebook. The level of bullying occurring in our schools is troubling, indeed, whether those children being bullied are gay or not. The outcome is the same.

Bristol Palin has apologized for her sister's comments. They were out of line. But are her comments worthy of the ire of an entire organization, one that is going after a teenager? Is the HRC minimizing the very real, and troubling, number of suicides by gay teens by their demand? Are they targeting not Willow, but her mother? Will being told something is "so gay" ever be seen as POSITIVE? Perhaps that is for what we should be striving instead of being so upset when someone uses it in that kind of context (hey, I can hope, can't I?)?

Maybe instead of the HRC focusing on some Facebook exchange between the daughter of a prominent Republican, they could push Obama to do more than give lip service to the LGBT community. Focus on repealing DADT. Focus on obtaining the same federal benefits for the LGBT community that the rest of the citizenry in this country enjoy. Push Obama to stop praising countries who treat their gay citizenry like criminals without mentioning same. You know, stuff like that.

And we need to do more sensitivity training in our schools - all of them. Our children need to know that this kind of name-calling is hurtful, regardless if the child is gay or not. It needs to stop. Adults need to stop using that kind of language, too (in a derogatory manner, that is). We need to teach our children that bullying is wrong no matter what. Period.

So, how about you. What do you think about this whole situation?