It was about Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, and included a timeline of his life and several quotes.

I didn’t forward it to a single person. I thought I would instead share some of the quotes here, because they all apply – in no small way – to where things are today.

And some are downright stunning.

––“It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.”

We stand not just accused, but guilty. Not only is our debt not paid, we go billions of dollars farther into the whole every year – especially the past few years.

Doug Davison

Like most people, I don’t know what effect that will really, truly have on the next couple of generations, but it can’t be good.

We just can’t keep going back to that same well, because it’s bound to eventually run dry – maybe sooner than later.

––“I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.”

The flip side is, Jefferson is predicting future unhappiness for Americans if they allow the government to waste their labors under the pretense of being taken care of.

I hate the idea that the land of the free may also have become the land of false governmental pretense.

––“The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”

OK, by a show of hands, does anyone feel we’ve already gone way too far down this road?

That’s what I thought.

––“My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.”

Some people would argue that the United States government has put its hands in far too many American pies (certainly more than even a visionary like Jefferson could have imagined). But many seem to want it that way, and don’t see a problem with allowing government to have too much influence and control.

As Jefferson is saying, history has proven time and again that big government isn’t a good thing.

To the contrary, it leads to destructive ends, and the peoples’ best bet lies not with government programs and handouts, but within.

––“No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.”

If they take away the guns, as they might say in New York, “forget about it.”

Prohibiting the bearing of arms would likely create an exponential rise in crime, and a subsequent increase of oppression. Since only the bad guys would have weapons in such a situation, a police state would be the ultimate result.

An age-old American premise is that people should have the option to protect themselves, their families, and their possessions. Minus that option, freedom as we know it would be done for.

––“To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”

Oh man, we are so buried by this problem, and it bothers me to no end.

American taxpayers’ money goes toward an alarming number of ideals, movements, and situations that are not the will of the majority, but rather special interests that have weaseled their way up the judicial and legislative chains and into positions where they receive attention for which they are in no way deserving.

I personally hate knowing that some of the money I pay to my government actually helps fund things I’m in total opposition to, and more importantly, that the masses never gave the OK to.

––Jefferson said in 1802: “I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property – until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”

Don’t look now, but…yikes. We have some mega-powerful banks on our hands, and we all know the government isn’t about to let them struggle – even if they do help cause many of their own problems.

Thomas Jefferson was born in April of 1743 and died on July 4, 1826 (yep, July 4). He was one of this country’s most influential founding fathers, and served as vice president under John Adams before becoming president.

Some may disagree with Jefferson, but I find his words to be a refreshing departure from the political mumbo-jumbo we are so often force-fed these days. How nice it would be if we who live in a state with a capital city named after him, and all others citizens of the country he helped create, never lost sight of his wisdom. But we may already have – or at very least the view is extremely dim.

Knowing what Jefferson said so many years ago, it’s apparent that we didn’t learn as much from him as we could have. But whether or not that’s the case, one thing is certain: if any of the issues he so rightfully addressed more than 200 years ago ever bites us in our collective behind, we wouldn’t be justified in saying we “didn’t see this coming.”

We were warned.

Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald. Email:  ddavison@houstonherald.com.

It is the only commandment with as promise of longer life. A 1,000-pound horse might convince us to heed this more than, say, a seven-pound Chihuahua. Experience that can help us keep the right side up includes the history of those who have gone before, our elders and other clear-thinking people. Our humility and motivation helps us tap into these sources. Then, hopefully, we listen to our own experiences as well.

If we valued experience from a scientific standpoint, we might ask, “why should we reinvent the wheel?” From a historic viewpoint, the Bible helps us learn from thousands of years of human experience. God whispers to us and sometimes shouts to us here. It is the most abundant, reliable, reputable, long-standing record we have.

Since we are conditioned to think new is better (which may have something to do with cell phones, and computers becoming outdated at the blink of an eye), we might have trouble learning from history. Evolutionary thought can tip us toward a “holier than thou” mindset because it has our ancestors dragging clubs and grunting, rather than reasoning intelligently.

Mike Daniels

Some people might think that the way many of us train horses now is new, but it is in fact thousands of years old. A couple of my mother’s favorite quotes were George Santayana’s “he who does not know history is doomed to repeat it,” and John Donne’s “no man is an island.”

I have never seen anyone who became top notch with horses who learned on their own. My own experience proved to me that I always learned faster riding on the experience of others. It may be obvious we can learn from our elders (what to do, as well as what not to do), but do we recognize the fact that we can learn from anyone?

We can observe in life that no one has the exact same experience or abilities. I believe that God has built blind spots into each of us, some of which can be found by growing closer to God through the Bible and prayer.

But I believe that God reserves some blind spots for us that can only be found by people we rub shoulders with, in order to help us exercise humility!  Not only does humility get us to heaven (the most humble stance before God is 100-percent Christ and nothing me), it also puts us on an even keel with everyone else (Ephesians 2: 8-9). The real test of godliness is whether we will listen to suggestions from clear-thinking people around us. It is tragic when we choose to be stupid, deciding not to hold back our natural pride and defensive nature and therefore cloud our minds (especially if we know Christ).

The first horse clinic I attended with Monte Foreman in 1975 instilled in me the importance of learning from others. I noticed people who were obeying the voice of experience and practicing diligently. I observed others who I found were regular attendees, but seemed to be there mostly for social reasons. I saw that pride and laziness together landed a rider in a mud puddle (God had reprimanded her, but was merciful with a soft landing).

Our natural tendency to be lazy points us to the importance of motivation. Much of the time, education is touted as a cure-all, but motivation proves to be the more important factor. Our take-for-granted complacency can cause us to sleep through others’ experience that is meant to fast-forward our experience. We horse people can make excuses like everyone else, but the question is whether we will put forth the effort to develop our experience from others.

That dirty word “obedience,” that we seem to think is going to make us a prisoner, actually does the opposite. If you think about it, it helps us develop skill and self-control better than anything else.

With regard to our own experience, do we learn? I had a neighbor in Minnesota who just bought a cute little paint filly. He was parading it up and down the gravel road kissing, and hugging it.

A couple of weeks later I asked him how the filly was doing. He said, “one day I hugged her like usual, and scooted a pail of grain under her nose, and she turned around and kicked me.” He then reasoned that innocent little darling surely didn’t mean it, so the next day he did the same thing, and she turned around and kicked him again. We know that one definition of insanity is to keep making the same mistake and expect different results (I call it the casino mentality).  But we have also heard, “fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.”

To summarize, the honor father and mother commandment flip-flops society’s emphasis on new and young and takes its hat off to “obeying experience instead.” It’s the closest thing we know to a fountain of youth this side of heaven!

Mike Daniels is a horsemanship trainer and barefoot hoof-trimming specialist from Raymondville. Email: rlhorse58@yahoo.com.

Whether “official” or otherwise, all days are singled out as times to celebrate or focus on some sort of cause, object, activity, or ideal.

Some designations are serious, and some silly. Some are deemed “national,” others are international, and still others are arbitrary in their scope. But whatever the case, each and every one is important to someone.

Here are a scant few of the “national” days that occur throughout each year (keep in mind I didn’t make up any of them).

––January 9: National Clean off Your Desk Day.

In case you missed it this year, keep it in mind for next year.

Of course, the nation’s clean freaks won’t feel led to participate, but this day offers other people a reason to deal with all that stuff that has piled up for months.

Doug Davison

The main thing to be wary of is not going overboard and end up throwing out refinance documents, current bills, or Aunt Thelma’s sweet potato pie recipe, but the idea would seem to be based on sound thinking.

And you never know, as you’re moving the stacks and getting ready to wipe off the dust and cookie crumbs, you might find that earring that went missing last summer, or that CD you copied from your friend’s collection of favorites. At very least, you’ll have room again for your coffee mug and you won’t always be wondering where your pen went.

––February 23: National Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day.

Why shouldn’t there be at least one day set aside in the interest of man’s best friend?

I know one particular 35-pound Pembroke Welsh Corgi who would love to be a spokes-canine for this cause. And surely dogs in all corners

of the country would be happy with showing their appreciation for chomping a jumbo beef-flavor Milk-Bone.

––May 14: National Chicken-Dance Day.

Yeah buddy, can’t you see it now – hundreds of people lined up on Grand Avenue in downtown Houston as millions of Americans join together in a massive, simultaneous moment of craziness. The major networks broadcasting snippets of dancing from many locations in the country to all corners of the world.

Awesome.

While we’re at it, crank up “Cotton-Eyed Joe” and let’s go.

––June 27: National Columnists Day.

Man, what a complete waste of time.

Those morons are nothing more than arrogant, opinionated crackpots who are so delusional they actually believe people give a rip what they think or care about.

––July 15: National Respect Canada Day.

So, then, whaddaya say we pop in that there Bob and Doug McKenzie video movie tape and down a few Molsons, eh?

OK, so, that sounds pretty good, you know. But listen, hoser, maybe first we ought to learn the words to “Oh Canada.” For crying in the mud, you know, the whole song has only nine lines there.

––Sept. 28: National Ask A Stupid Question Day.

There are people who don’t buy into the old adage “there’s no such thing as a stupid question,” and this day represents a chance for them to prove their point.

Participating is easy (and apparently comes naturally to far too many folks). It’s like this:

If you see someone removing a shredded tire from a jacked-up car on the side of a highway, ask, “get a flat?”

If you’re at the lake and you see someone wearing a swimsuit about to jump in, ask, “going swimming?”

If you see someone pinned to the ground by a large tree draped across their abdomen, ask, “need some help?”

The possibilities are endless.

––Nov. 15: National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day.

It’s not necessarily a pleasant task, so having a target date for taking it on probably isn’t a bad idea.

At some point, someone has to find out what’s in those plastic containers way in the back, and how long those jars of seldom-used condiments have been in the door. Why not do so when you know lots of other people are, too?

And since nobody really cared for the contents of those jars of zucchini butter and pickled pigs feet (and no one can remember who gave them as a gift, either) this day offers a perfect excuse to ditch them.

I know a dog or two who might consider this day even more special than the dog biscuit day.

––Dec. 16: National Chocolate Covered Anything Day.

Few food items could be counted more worthy of having their own day than chocolate. But maybe the day’s title doesn’t do justice to its intended celebration of the goodness and versatility its subject, because I’m just not so sure about the “anything” part.

I believe it would be best to stop short of certain things, like moldy asparagus, possum ears, and dog-do, to name just a few.

Since not a day exists without a special designation, there are so many more to consider. Some sound kind of interesting (like National Dress Up Your Pet Day on Jan. 14, National Pig Day on March 1, and National Pizza With The Works Except Anchovies Day on Nov. 12), while others sound pretty weird (like National Babbling Day on Oct. 21, and National Bicarbonate Of Soda Day on Dec. 30).

Of course, weeks and months receive special designations, too.

For example, maybe you weren’t aware that you have less than two weeks left to get yourself together during National Get Organized Month (January). And perhaps you’d best start making your plans for National Laugh-Friendly Month (February), National Pancake Week (Feb. 19-25), and National Second-hand Wardrobe Week (Feb. 26 – March 3).

And now may be as good a time as any to begin preparing for National On-Hold Month (a.k.a. March), and before you know it, another National Scoop the Poop week will be here (April 24-30).

But I wouldn’t bother getting ready for National Procrastination Week. It’s not until March 4-10, so there’s still plenty of time.

Hey, we may all be in a hand basket headed for a very hot place, but there’s always reason to celebrate.

Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald. Email:  ddavison@houstonherald.com.

When analyzed literally, many don’t make much (if any) sense. But most never receive such scrutiny and are simply carried on through the generations.

In many cases, time has caused old sayings to lose their original form, and in others, to take on entirely different meaning. But whether they’ve withstood the pressure of change, or have been altered over time, finding out where old sayings come from always sheds very interesting light on them.

I chose a handful of familiar favorites and did a little research. Here’s what I found.

––“God (or Lord) willing and the creek don’t rise.”

During the late 1700s, politician and Indian diplomat Benjamin Hawkins was working in the southeastern U.S. and was requested by the president to come to Washington, D.C.

Hawkins’ responded by writing that he would do so, “God willing and the Creeks don’t rise.” He was referring to the Creek Indians.

Over time the saying has morphed into the one we are now familiar with, in which the word “creek” has been substituted for “Creeks” and is associated with a swollen stream of water.

Doug Davison

––“Tough row to hoe.”

Most often mistakenly stated a “tough road to hoe,” the phrase means to have a daunting task to perform, and refers to hoeing rows on a farm.

A tough row to hoe would in a literal sense be one full of rocks and roots, which in a figurative sense would be a tough problem to face.

The origin of the expression dates back to 1834, from a passage in the book “Tour to the North and Down East,” by frontiersman Davy Crockett, who wrote, “I know it was a hard row to hoe.”

Nowadays, you might hear a TV sportscaster say a team has a “tough road ahead.”

––“Balls to the wall.”

The familiar old saying that means to push to the limit, or go all out, is not a reference to male anatomy, but an expression from the world of aviation. On an airplane, the handles controlling the throttle and fuel mixture are often topped with ball-shaped grips, which are not surprisingly referred to by pilots as “balls.”

Pushing the balls forward – toward the “wall” of the cockpit – is to apply full throttle and reach the highest possible speed.

––“Round-robin.”

Most present-day sports fans are familiar with this phrase and its use to describe a tournament in which each entrant (whether team or individual) plays all other entrants.

But its origin is vastly removed from athletics, and has nothing to do with a red-breasted bird.

The word “robin” in the saying is a corruption of the French word “ruban,” which means “ribbon.”

In 17th and 18th century France, the average peasant had plenty to complain about, and they often did so by petitioning the king. But that wasn’t a particularly wise move for a while, because his usual reaction was to seize the first two or three people who signed the petition and have them beheaded.

Wishing to keep their heads about them, but determined to petition for justice, peasants began signing their names on petitions in a circle, like a ribbon. That eliminated any order to the signatures, and if there were hundreds on a given petition, it was impractical for the king to punish all signers.

––“Pleased as Punch.”

An old saying that’s generally recognized as meaning very pleased, it comes from the traditional, popular puppet show with roots in 16^th century Italy known as “Punch and Judy,” featuring Mr. Punch and his wife Judy. Mr. Punch, who wears a brightly colored jester’s outfit, is typically portrayed as a character possessing gleeful self-satisfaction, hence the modern phrase.

––“Big wig.”

In the 18th century when many men wore wigs, the most important men wore the biggest wigs. Important people are still called “big wigs” today.

––“Bone up on.”

Commonly known to mean studying or learning about something, the phrase was originally slang used by American students in the 1800s.

A publishing firm owned by Henry Bohn produced Bohn’s Classical Library, a series of study aids that translated Greek and Latin classics to English and were widely used by students cramming for exams. The expression to “Bohn up” eventually became to “bone up.”

––“Flash in the pan.”

Musical artists who become “one hit wonders,” or athletes who have a great moment but not a great career, sometimes end up wearing this label.

It originates from firearms jargon. For hundreds of years, muzzle-loaded rifles called muskets were designed to shoot with help from a priming pan filled with gunpowder. When flint hit steel, the powder in the pan would ignite, which then ignited the main charge of gunpowder and fired the musket ball. When the powder in the pan failed to light the main charge, all that took place was a “flash in the pan.”

––“Swan song.”

Signifying a final performance, this saying comes from an ancient belief – which has no foundation in fact – that the only time a swan sings in its entire life is just before it dies.

The phrase was first recorded in the 6th century B.C. (Aesop), and is also found in Latin literature and in English beginning in the 14th century.

So there you have it.

A bit of somewhat interesting trivia to add to your relatively useless information file.

Realistically, it doesn’t matter where old sayings come from, and it would take a month of Sundays to even scratch the surface of finding out. All that matters is that a person understands what is being said when someone else pulls the old saying card.

And they usually do, because most people are “on the ball” when it comes to old sayings (there are at least three possibilities as to where that one came from; look it up if you feel led).

Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald.  Email:  ddavison@houstonherald.com.

Truth can be defined as the parameters God has built into the foundations of the world. These include tools that God has available for all to use, which help us in our communication and productivity. The Second Commandment involved minimizing distractions. This third one absolutely peels away the cover that can give credit to the “distractions” for accomplishments rightfully attributed to God.

Some salesmen love to portray their “gadget” as necessary to a task, yet they can distract from the true essentials.

Mike Daniels

One way we can misuse God’s name is by putting his name on our “things.” Another way we can misuse his name is by taking his truths and putting our name on them (similar to copyright or patent infringement).

When we have a positive view of God and his creation, we can see his “tools” clear and distinct from our toys that come and go. An example for a carpenter would be square, level and plumb.

These are the three absolutes that every carpenter enjoys using for excellence in their work fully attributable to God. These truths cannot be purchased; they are part of the fringe benefit of being part of God’s creation.

In horsemanship, we can peel away all the gadgets everyone thinks they need to become good, and be left with three basic body languages to guide our horses. I use mom, dad and God to label these three.

A body language of pressure (mom move), a body language of rhythmic pressure (dad move), and a body language combining pressure and rhythmic pressure (God move).

Many horse owners will combine pressure and rhythmic pressure without purifying them distinctly and separately, with the end result of having one poor body language rather than three good ones.

The first body language was explained in the First Commandment as slow to apply pressure and quick to release (mom), with no rhythmic. The second body language of rhythmic (dad) is emphasized in the Third Commandment because it is pivotal in bettering the other two movement languages. Just as in real life, mom strives for a soft feel, and dad helps get respect for the soft feel as well as the responsibility of the self-worker that God aims for (God body language = mom and dad combined).

We live in a culture that seems to consider most forms of hitting as violent, and has hazy perceptions of good and evil. I like to tell people that one difference between good and evil is all about warning. Warnings give time to respond so that learning can take place. Good has a growth goal for others, whereas evil only wants to appease self and use others. To purify the rhythmic language, I tell people to clearly show their horse the rhythmic hand or stick is coming into its space before coming into contact (hit air before hitting horse). In this instance, we give them time to move out of the way, respecting our more subtle signals (such as pressure) in the process.

How hard rhythmic is applied depends on sensitivity, as well as weighing confidence and respect.

The rules of observing the Sabbath (brainwork) and adultery (self control) play important roles here.

Only when we begin to see the clear difference between Mom and Dad seeing the distinct well-chiseled uniqueness of both, can we imitate God in a good well-balanced way.

In horses, the God language can include rope wiggling or checking (quick tugs) on reins. These are quick reminders in the midst of developing a true self-worker.

In summary, the Third Commandment recognizes and gives credit to God, and the essential truths He has available for all to use (upholding His name rather than misusing it). It sees value in the distinct softness yet determination of mom, and the decisive motivation of dad, molding the true volunteer which represents God.

The first three commandments can also be summarized here. They represent the substance God gives us to live and move. In horsemanship, three languages were given in the first commandment (prayer, mom move, mom nothing), two languages were given in the second (dad nothing, kid nothing) and two languages were given in the third (dad move, God move).

These seven languages can be used to stimulate intelligent thinking; emulating God’s creative design, producing faster results. But they can also be ignored, modeling the religion of evolution with an extremely slow process, as a result of the absence of an intelligent mind.

Mike Daniels is a horsemanship trainer and barefoot hoof-trimming specialist from Raymondville. Email: rlhorse58@yahoo.com.

As God is allowed to become less and less of a guiding influence and His values and morals are increasingly ignored, the hearts of Americans grow colder and colder. Subsequently, family structure is eroding beyond repair, self-glorification and gratification have become high priorities, and respect for the feelings, possessions, and even lives of others diminishes on a daily basis.

Big city, rural country – doesn’t matter. It applies to both.

As much as I wish it were different, I fear that the bus we’re on has headed down a road where the bridge is out, and there may be no turning back. And the evidence is all around – even right here in our little neck of the woods.

During the second half of 2011, more blood has spilled onto the pages of the Houston Herald than would usually happen over a period of years. Violent confrontations are every bit as prevalent in the headlines as construction projects and political promises.

In addition to the bloodshed, it’s hard not to take notice of the increase in theft, assault, and all other types of undesirable behavior. There’s just plain more of it, and this is surely an instance where more isn’t better.

I think it’s possible to pinpoint a moment in time when it all went to the next level locally: The murder in August at the Sinclair gas station in Cabool. Ever since Daniel Chapman gunned down his wife Sandra – allegedly – Texas County and the surrounding area has experienced an almost uninterrupted flow of unusually bad criminal incidents.

We’ve come to know the likes of Darryl Eye, Terry Volner, Marvin Rice, and Gary Welch, all of whom were apparently hell-bent on killing, being killed or generally wreaking major havoc. And beginning last week, we were introduced to Chris Jorgensen and Nathan Jensen, a couple of men who are accused of being involved in the killing of a teenage acquaintance over some sort of disagreement.

Doug Davison

As well as murders and suicides, assaults have been plentiful along the way, and burglaries and break-ins have become all but every day occurrences. And the perpetrators represent a cross-section of Americana; some have been brought up in an environment where generational shortcomings are allowed to proliferate, and the difference between right and wrong is virtually unspoken and almost entirely unrecognizable, but others come from backgrounds that would be considered far more “stable” and “safe.”

While all of theses incidents make it easy to wonder why, there’s nothing surprising here. While it may be difficult to relate to a thought process that deems it OK to solve a problem by killing someone (or trying to), it’s not unfathomable.

To the contrary, this is all just Biblical – because it is written.

I don’t believe for an instant that this is some sort of anomaly. It’s not a passing trend, a momentary blip on the radar, or “just a phase.”

It’s a reflection of the overall state of the increasingly God-less world in which we live. I know I’ll be called cynical for expressing (or even having) that viewpoint, but I’d argue it’s being realistic. And there’s scripture to back that up.

We can’t see inside the hearts and minds of the people at the center of these cases (especially the more horrific ones), but it’s probably a very dark place where Jesus is nowhere to be found.

We who have never pulled a trigger of a pistol pointed at a “loved one” can’t imagine the mental process that would lead to such a thing.

We who haven’t stabbed an acquaintance to death for giving a friend a hard time couldn’t possibly understand the convoluted thought pattern that would rationalize such action.

And we who have never killed a young boy to avenge a misguided jealous rage couldn’t begin to relate to the demonic battle that must be raging inside the perpetrator’s being.

But we can safely assume God is not involved in such battles, patterns, or processes.

I’m definitely in agreement when I hear people say that Texas County is a great place to live and that there are a lot of fine people here. And nothing that has happened on the back end of 2011 will change that.

But the inescapable fact is that we’re living in perilous times and there’s no place in the U.S. that’s immune to that. People are turning toward callousness, and they’re not going back.

Alas, I believe that even realization and acknowledgement won’t prevent what has already been set in motion from continuing. Nope, the wheels are turning, and the brakes are shot.

The good news is, as bad as things may seem here, they’re already far worse in many other places. For every Chris Jorgensen or Darryl Eye we have, big cities like St. Louis have dozens more.

Make no mistake, I love this unique piece of the Ozarks in which we live. We can still fish, hunt and ride horses. We can still grill out, hike and go to the river, and our idea of a traffic jam is four cars in front of us at the exit of the Walmart parking lot.

And most of the people here are hospitable, if not downright friendly.

But we can’t stop what’s coming, and we sure can’t hide from it. There may be some lulls and pauses, but this isn’t going away, it’s a sign of the times.

A woman I know said the other day that if anyone wanted to know the way this story ends, they could read it in the Book of Revelation.

All that’s left is to prepare our hearts for more and dig in, because what is written is true.

The bad exists. The bad will worsen.

And there will be blood.

Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald. Email:  ddavison@houstonherald.com.

eBossWatch.com ranked Texas County Prosecutor Michael Anderson, the subject of two previously settled lawsuits and the target of a third, on its list of 100, according to a press release.

This year’s worst bosses include a famous actor, a movie producer, a Fortune 500 CEO, two U.S. Navy officers, two doctors, two judges, two district attorneys, three police chiefs, a U.S. congressman, a U.S. senator and a U.S. ambassador, announced eBossWatch, which published its third annual list on its website.

An eBossWatch panel of workplace experts selected and ranked the worst bosses from across the country.  To date, the 2011 America’s Worst Bosses have cost their employers over $145 million in monetary damages and lawsuit settlement payments, according to a press release on Monday.

“We continue to be shocked and outraged by the egregious harassment and discrimination that happens in far too many American workplaces,” said Asher Adelman, founder of eBossWatch. “The America’s Worst Bosses list sends a clear warning to would-be toxic managers: abusive behavior towards one’s employees and coworkers will not go unpunished.”

The states with the most worst bosses are: California (19), Florida (8), New York (6), New Jersey (6) and Wisconsin (5).

The entire list of America’s Worst Bosses 2011 is located here.

The first absolute of “only one God” demands continual observance with no danger of fanaticism. But no false gods is all about balance, and lack of balance brings us into fanatic territory. Over-focus on things that impress, or avoidance of things that intimidate, are the culprits here.

In horsemanship, a person might think that balance is the part that keeps a rider on board, which is true. But the more important long-range balance involves “emotions.”

Ultimately, a human will stay more focused on God, and a horse more focused on its human, when they are not as intimidated or impressed by other things. This is the commandment that helps produce courage and bravery. It is somewhat related to the adultery commandment in that it contributes to self-control. It also relates to the observe-the-Sabbath rule because it demands brainwork.

But the main thing this component does is to make life more abundant by dealing with issues and fears we tend to avoid. Mom can soothe at the expense of bravery. Dad can stress bravery at the expense of gentleness. But all can forget the reality of real life surprises “kid” brings to the scene.

The issue is to get all of these into the picture in a correct balance.

Mike Daniels

How I apply this to horses is by using three basic ways to teach them that I don’t want them to move from or change what they are doing. I call these “the three nothings.”

I don’t want horses to change what they are doing when I pet them (mom nothing). I also don’t want them to freak out when I rhythmically swing or jump around them, or slap equipment on them (dad nothing) or when I sporadically do those things while adding loud noises (kid nothing).

If you think about it, no matter how skillful we or our horses get, it’s useless if we are easily distracted or can’t hang in there under pressure. The only way to get it better is to slowly ratchet up the pressure, and give relief only when the horse accepts it rather than trying to escape.

We can all hear mom telling dad to “stop that, can’t you see it’s bothering ’em?” And we can also hear dad telling mom, “I can’t stop until it don’t bother ’em.”

Mom’s job is to soothe in between courage exercises with dad, but not interfere, and likewise dad needs to respect mom’s soothing.

Then we have to graduate to the “kid nothings.” Those are the sporadic, unsuspected movements and noises that are closest to real life surprises that keep us on our toes. It’s funny that true “horse whispering” has us alternating between petting (mom), jumping jacks (dad), and yelling “boo” (kid)!

This is one of the most comical, creative, yet muscle building methods of producing courage and bravery. And when you can keep you and your horse’s emotions balanced, you can spend more time growing, rather than nursing wounds. That plus unending prayer is cheap health insurance.

Throughout history, the mark of truly courageous people (and their horses) who have accomplished the most good is having beaten back their false gods (adult baby bottles) of short term fears and pleasures to focus on the author of life.

They were tired of the “coin-operated” pony rides, and looked ahead to the real-life, long-lasting horseback ride that showed the picture of true balance.

Mike Daniels is a horsemanship trainer and barefoot hoof-trimming specialist from Raymondville. Email rlhorse58@yahoo.com.

I first came across the 10 commandments observed in nature from the 10 qualities of a horseman by renowned horsemanship expert and author Pat Perelli.

Here is a quick comparison:

The 10 commandments

1. Only one God

2. No false gods

3. No misuse of God’s name

4. Observe the Sabbath

5. Honor father and mother

6. No murder

7. No adultery

8. No steal

9. No lie

10. No covet

10 horsemanship qualities

1. Focus

2. Balance

3. Truth (savvy)

4. Feel

5. Experience

6. Attitude

7. Impulsion

8. Respect

9. Timing

10. Flexibility

When I first saw Perelli’s list of 10 absolutes, I thought it made sense to compare it to God’s list of 10 in stone. Since my favorite Bible verse is John 10:10 (“the thief comes to kill and destroy, but I have come so that they might have life and have it to the fullest”), I observed a more detailed positive real life application.

I will attempt to give a picture of each of these 10 comparisons separately in an ongoing series of columns.

Mike Daniels

The First commandment: only one god.

The only thing we can focus on continually without causing a problem is God. In the same way, a horse must stay focused on their human in order to stay out of trouble.

I like to tell everyone that we get to play the role of God to our horse, so that we know what God feels like when dealing with us.

Usually all problems stem from a horse forgetting about us. They drag us off, run over the top of us, etc., because they have lost their connection with us. Us focusing on God, or our horses focusing on us, keeps the shades from being pulled over that “first priority window,” while we engage our minds on other things. This always keeps the big picture in view, so we don’t sour ourselves and others with a seemingly one track mind.

We know that focus is the No. 1 thing that gets us good at anything. Focus helps us forget about our ego, separate non-essentials, and concentrate on exactly what is needed at a given time. We know it is critical in isolating areas to improve, or problems to solve.

But focus without the big picture can hurt us because we become insensitive, and therefore unresponsive to the “real world” around us. We might become satisfied just specializing on a component, but forget the reason we isolated it to start with.

The test of the purity of effort is to see how it helps the big picture!

Humans and horses that have their focuses always open to the real architect are much more useful than the ones who shut the curtains on the real window to our creator God.

Specifically in horses we will apply the first commandment by getting the horse to laterally flex, which I define as “praying” with the horse. We do this by engaging pressure (no rhythmic movement), letting them find relief, and then stroking them when they are in the desired position, further encouraging the correct response as pressure is let off when they are right.

With the prayer, we first acknowledge who is in control. We then strive for a willing, teachable attitude, and finally practice the ability to wait. True prayer also encompasses a clear-thinking mind, so that God may be able to work through us as one of the methods He answers prayer.

We apply this to horsemanship by alternating pressure and the stroking movement as we laterally flex, to ask them to move and don’t move. This stimulates a “Simon says” type of game that sharpens their focus on us.

To summarize, the first commandment helps us truly pray, focusing on our creator, fostering a teachable attitude, building patience and a clear, sharp-thinking mind.

Mike Daniels is a horsemanship trainer and barefoot hoof-trimming specialist from Raymondville. Email: rlhorse58@yahoo.com.

Perhaps more this year than ever, I’ve heard several different people talking about it. Maybe you’ve felt that way, too, or at least heard the talk.

“It seems like yesterday that the temperature was 100 degrees.”

“It seems like just last week that I was doing my taxes.”

“I can still hear those spring storms blowing through like it was a couple of days ago.”

Doug Davison

Why is that?

Is it because life is moving at such a breakneck pace, as we attempt to pack more and more stuff into each passing 24-hour period?

Is it because our brains have difficulty discerning a minute from an hour and because they’re so overloaded with technological mumbo-jumbo, and inundated with electronic cerebral junk mail?

Or has there been a disruption in the space-time continuum causing planets to spin faster on their axis and orbit around stars quicker, and the hands of clocks really are moving more rapidly now than before?

Or could it be that this just an example of a non-issue being treated like there’s something to it?

I don’t know, although I’m guessing the laws of physics remain intact (at least for now) and Earth is rotating and revolving at its usual rate.

But never wanting to accept something like this without dissecting it until it makes even less sense, I did a little (not in-depth) research to see if there was a scientific explanation or maybe even an official name for this phenomenon (which I’ll call “perceived elapsed time syndrome” – or PETS; kind of sounds official, doesn’t it).

Not surprisingly, my search didn’t reveal any concrete data or definitive conclusions, but I did come across some interesting information. Interesting, but somewhat disappointing, too.

One source said that time seeming to speed up has to do with age. The basic concept is that as we get older, years become smaller and smaller fraction of our total lifetime, and therefore seem shorter.

The source even broke the idea down by comparing how much a five-year span represents at different stages of life:

5 = 1/1

10 = 1/2

15 = 1/3

20 = 1/4

25 = 1/5

30 = 1/6

35 = 1/7

40 = 1/8

45 = 1/9

50 = 1/10, and so on.

This makes some sense.

When we’re young, we haven’t lived through many years, so they seem like virtually unending marathons, and future events seem to take forever to come to pass.

In my own experience, I can remember looking forward to summer vacation and then feeling like it would never arrive, as April and May seemed to drag on and on. I remember feeling like it took half of forever to travel to grandma and grandpa’s house that was really only about four hours miles away from where my family lived at the time. And I remember how baseball games, scout troop meetings and movies all seemed to last soooooo long.

It stands to reason that as we age, and bits of time become smaller and smaller fractions of our lives, segments of time would seem shorter. In turn, last spring ends up seeming like last week at the beginning of December, and every year when your vehicle registration is due, you could swear you just took care of it the other day.

Taking this into consideration, I guess this year seemed to go by quicker than ever because I’m getting so old.

Dang it.

Another source presented a theory basically stating that when we repeat the same patterns day after day and year after year, unique or lasting impressions are less likely to be made in our minds than if we do something new and different now and then. The result was said to be that time seems to pass more quickly because there’s nothing in our memory banks to separate one period from the rest.

The suggested remedy was to – as often as possible – create or take advantage of new and unique experiences that would form distinct memories.

This theory, like the first, makes some sense to me. Without highlights to break up the pattern of monotony, what’s to set apart one piece of time from the rest? Without something to differentiate segments of time from others, wouldn’t it all just become a blur and seem to go by in a hurry?

The problem with this situation is that repetition is simply a standard feature of lots of peoples’ lives.

Many operate on fairly consistent schedules, often involving jobs that require doing the same tasks, seeing the same people, and even driving the same roads most days. Then they go home and watch TV and eat the same brand and flavor of chips.

That, unfortunately, doesn’t produce many openings for highlights to squeeze through.

To put this theory in other words, time seems to go by faster to someone whose existence is tedious and uninteresting. So I guess in order to slow things down, people just need to get a life.

Hmmm, I’ve been feeling like this year has gone by faster than usual. By these standards that means I’m not only old, I’m also dull and boring.

Great.

I can’t think of any way to avoid losing the battle with age, but maybe I’ll take a different route home from work today.

Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald. Email:  ddavison@houstonherald.com.