Remember This Guy From The Past? There Are Many Like Him Now.

David Hogan
Leeds, AL
April 9, 2019

Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, image from Wikipedia

The name Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf may escape the memories of many, even Americans born way before 9-11, but you might remember him by another name. That famous name for a time was, Baghdad Bob or as we saw him on CNN as the Minister of Information for the Iraq government in 2003, during the Iraq war.

Baghdad Bob became somewhat of a celebrity during the Iraq war mainly for disinformation, and soon was being called The Minister of Disinformation by many as he spewed outlandish things on the airwaves.  I remember possibly his biggest whopper was when the American tanks were coming into Baghdad he was saying there were no tanks in Baghdad even though they were less than a football field length from him and the noise was blaring over him speaking.

So, I bet you think I'm going to target the current state of news, don't you?  Actually, it's not my main point, even though I admit one can make an argument for a lot of disinformation being passed off as news in America today, but my concern is a troubling one in disguise, partly related to our mainstream media for sure, but a bigger concern at local levels of government.

Introducing the White House Press Corps was a good thing.  The White House Press Secretary announces the news of the White House in the presence of prominent news agency reporters, that question what is presented.

Now there is a similar scenario, but not the same in local government, known as their Public Information Office.  These offices put out news from city and county governments but, few have a meeting room or daily press conference. What they DO have is a Facebook page and website including live streaming meetings.

In part that is a good thing, in part.  What's missing is the presence of reporters to question the government while being watched in a setting of significance. There is another element to these new Public Information Offices and that is government created news releases, and their websites where they turn press releases into their own news articles.

The local government offices often selectively choose what they highlight in what makes it to their videos, articles and posts.  If you try to call them out on this, noting they are not under scrutiny, they will fall back on having meetings videotaped as a usual defense. Part of the reason people rely on news is they do not have time to attend government proceedings, or watch them on a video.

Press releases are a good thing, but they have created what I told my reporters to be "Lazy Shit Journalism".  If you don't follow up and ask questions of the news release you are letting government control news unfettered.  Many reporters put out the entire government press release as their article, with maybe a word or sentence changed at best.

Getting news from the government is a good thing. Getting news from the government without questioning it, verifying it and researching it, is not a good thing and can lead to our friend above, Baghdad Bob, spreading disinformation at will.

Unfortunately many mainstream news agencies have become versions of Baghdad Bob, often siding with a party, an administration, and embracing the news releases of whom they are siding with and ignoring the others.  Baghdad Bob would certainly embrace those agencies and woo them to be an ally.  The news cannot be an ally of any one part of government or political parties at the expense of the others.

Until news gets back to calling out everyone, the best we can hope for is to have news agencies that their bias, balances the bias of other news agencies.  That's a sad solution as mainstream news does not embrace the need of a two party system to keep each party in check. What they do now is to move forward an agenda of the side they are an ally with, and those news agencies that attempt to keep them in check are often outnumbered if even in existence.

This Independent Thinker is Growing Tired.

David Hogan
Leeds, AL

I've pretty much been an independent my whole life. It could have been from growing up with controlling parents, or having to endure fights as just the normal part of walking to and from school, or having 3 siblings and realizing early how easy people gang up on someone. Who knows?

There has always been a liberal side of me and a conservative side of me, and I'm not going to speak what issues take me to either side in this article, although ten years ago I would have been glad to.  Not any more.

There was a time when both sides of the aisle could look at something preposterous and say, "no, I'm not buying that."  No one even had to offer up a political side.

We didn't convict public figures to federal prison and then try to name a public facility after them. In fact Richard Scrushy had a road named after him taken away, after his fall from grace.

We also didn't sentence a politician to four years in prison for corruption and watch him walk around free three years later never having seen the inside of a prison either. Appeals are usually filed from inside prisons by those convicted and sentenced to go there.

We didn't grieve over the death of police officers on the one hand, while calling for them to be hanged on the other, after being cleared of wrongdoing.

In fact there WAS a time when this country operated on a presumed innocence stance on both sides of the coin, be it victim or perpetrator. Investigations were commonplace too, but we lived with the outcome, and if appeals were to be filed, then the process was enacted.

There was also a time when police officers took being a smart-aleck for just that, not a cause to be handcuffed for "disrespect".  Of course there was also a time a police officer was respected too.

SO, just what am I tired of?  Justifications for bad behavior for any and everything.  It's one thing to go easy on the family stealing bread that has suffered undue hardships and presented their misery to a judge, and another to think someone has a "right" to settle differences with a gun, or to think systemic injustices make it OK to affront someone.

BUT WHAT I'M REALLY TIRED OF IS LAZINESS!

I'm tired of lazy protesters that won't do arduous work for change. I'm tired of people blaming one another simply because of race. I'm tired of everyone that thinks "things" that cost money are a right they are entitled to, without putting anything into the pot to pay for it. I'm tired of those that have nothing to put in the pot for social benefits that can't be at the least, grateful, for what they do receive. A mean, nasty, violent, old mangy dog, that's been on the street for it's whole life may growl at you, but it will still wag its tail once you've thrown it some food and moved on.

Most of all, I'm tired of those that think because you are tired of something, you have never endured hardship and are privileged because you don't just roll over and jump on a bandwagon without any questions whatsoever.

So, what is my answer to all this?  I honestly don't have one anymore. I used to tell people to, "agree to disagree", but now their reply is, "you're either with us or against us".  So, I'm just tired, for now.

The Need To Always Be Right Can Hurt Us All

David Hogan
Leeds, AL

Photo courtesy of Trustologie

A week later and media sources are STILL trying to find MORE wrong with the Covington, Ky students / Native American meeting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

There is PLENTY to learn.

• Maybe the Native American might have spoken in plain English to the young man instead of waiting until after to speak to press.
• Maybe the young man might have asked the elder if he wanted him to move or had anything to say.
• Maybe the school could admit to poor chaperoning
• Maybe those making a big deal about a hat and what it "means" to others might realize like it or not it is an expression of Free Speech and those griping also wear their symbols no matter how they try to scale one against the other.
• Maybe THIS, and Maybe THAT.

And MAYBE just maybe we ALL quit trying to one up the other "side" and maybe just maybe say hey we can do better, we can ask when we don't know, we can communicate in forms each of us CAN understand, IF we care enough to reach out.

Or just keep trying to BE RIGHT and let that cortisol building up take us to an early grave with I WAS RIGHT on our tombstones, THEN we can bitch about which tombstone is right.

The Power of SO WHAT in Dealing with Caregiver Anxiety

David Hogan
Leeds, AL

Photo courtesy of healthywomen.org

I have been a caregiver to different family members with various forms of dementia since 2006. I've shut down businesses to take care of loved ones, and continued running them as well. I am now retired and take care of my father in law with Alzheimer's 24/7. He is the last parent living for my wife and I, and he is 90 years old.

I run a Birmingham Area Facebook Support Group for Caregivers where we try and support one another, and provide resources and information to help one another insure our loved ones are well cared for at home, and that we, as caregivers learn to support ourselves.

People often say you must have to take it one day at a time while caring for someone with Alzheimer's.  I respond by gently telling them, "No, it's more like one minute at a time, as things often change with little notice or warning."

With that knowledge of change, it can bring about a lot of anxiety for caregivers.  What do I mean by anxiety for the caregiver?  I'll give a few examples:

• When will he go to the bathroom?
• He hasn't been to the bathroom in three days do I start the laxative, and how much?
• When is the best time to give the laxative?
• Did I feed him the wrong things and cause him to be constipated?
• He doesn't want to get out of bed, but he needs to move so he won't stove up, do I just get him up anyway?
• I don't think he is answering me truthfully about pain and just trying to please me and not wanting to be a bother, do I call the doctor?

And ON and ON it goes, as caregivers know all too well that almost every decision they make may be criticized by other family members and even worse by their own self.  Yes, caregivers can get into a rut of second guessing everything they do in all decisions.  Why?

No one can beat up on us like ourselves, and caregivers often blame themselves for things they have no control over.  Alzheimer patients at home can become irritable through no fault of anyone, even with us doing all the reassuring, soothing, calm and other suggestions told to us by professionals.  That's just one example.  Yet, we as caregivers also know there is an expert about everything out there on the internet and in support groups, so we think we should know it all.

GET OVER IT, ALREADY! BEND LIKE THE PALM TREES!

Sometimes they go to the bathroom just because they went to the bathroom. SO WHAT?  Everyone goes to the bathroom! Aside from making sure they are eating nutritious food, drinking plenty of water, getting ample movement, get over it already.  They will go when they go, and as long as it's not beyond what your doctor says is a reasonable interval, just deal with it when it happens.

Anxiety is feeling helpless over something.  Responsible acceptance is one of the answers to cope with caregiver anxiety.  If you know you are doing all the things doctors and experts are telling you to do, and paying close attention to things, accept that this is a horrible disease, and that you are like a palm tree in a hurricane that doesn't break because you can bend and know that not only are you doing the best that you can, but that you make a difference in the care of another human being.

We Can No Longer Trust Any News, So What Do We Do?

David Hogan
Leeds, AL

This retired journalist has waited a long time for news to rebound, to find its way in modern digital times, and the wait is over.

News can no longer be trusted, but it must still be protected, and it must still be read, only differently.

Years ago we all sat down before or after dinner, and we had our favorite network news station in ABC, CBS, or NBC, and many chose which station to watch based on the anchor person they liked.  However, they still knew the other networks would be airing pretty much the same news.

I could go into how ABC News Nightline changed the airwaves with night after night of the Iranian hostage crisis, or how CNN followed shortly thereafter with the birth of their 24/7 cable news network, but it seems we've had 24/7 news for so long now, that few see the significance of these changing events.  SO, what now?

Well we do have to mention that social media erupted and 24/7 news scrambled to get on board. And then there were the APPS, yes the apps for our smartphones, and we gobbled it up even with major news agencies still trying to figure out how to make money and deal with the blogger that the only real expense they have is the price of the internet and the price of web hosting.

Can we recognize that news is significantly different than before ABC News Night Line and CNN took to the airwaves?

There is very little news reporting that is not littered with opinion, conjecture, and leading the reader to pre-planned conclusions.  How can I substantiate those statements? They are validated by the 24/7 news cycle and the inability of news sources to simply report only what happened without making opinion a part of reporting, when it should be clearly separated from reporting, including being totally removed from all news desks.

The old model was more than enough, in fact it was wonderful.  The old model of reporting nothing more than factual news and having Sunday news talk shows, or evening news commentary clearly separated news reporting from news commentary.

We have insulted the entire American populace by thinking they must make immediate decision on all news and group them into categories that are now always aligned with political parties.

OK, but again, what now?

Learn!

Learn to recognize the play being made on us in so called news reporting.  Did they really get the other side of a story, or only a token comment as a show of being fair?  Was it even necessary to use the many adjectives used in a story title?  Does the news have to say that someone,"spun another big one", when the truth of the topic remains under investigation or has opposition? Can they not just report the damn news and leave opinions out?

Don't forget to question those that ask the questions!

Many will say that is the heart of investigative reporting and I don't buy that for a second.  What that is to journalism is LSJ (Lazy Shit Journalism), meaning the news is seeking public approval and accolades without the arduous and hard work of digging, interviewing, researching, asking questions in the background not in the spotlight.

There are journalist that want to do it right, but they are hamstrung by their bosses.

Modern day news can't seem to report without injected direction and opinion, so it's up to us to recognize the adjectives, and the careful move in a story toward calculated conclusions.  It's simply time we no longer trust the news, but must continue to listen to all of them to piece together a sense of truth, and we must do so as hardcore skeptics.

And lastly, this article is nothing more than my opinion, I feel good that I can admit that.  As Don Miguel Ruiz says in his book, "The Fifth Agreement", "Be skeptical but learn to listen."

My Bike Then, My Bike Now

David Hogan
Leeds, Al

I got my first bike later than most kids as we simply didn't have the money to buy bikes for four kids in our family. So, I walked, and I walked a lot, from the time I was in first grade, all the way up to about age 12, when I got a bike from money I saved cutting grass in the neighborhood.

Pretty soon I realized those walks I used to make in the summer from near Belcher Lumber Company in West End, over to Legion Field and other "far off" places to an adolescent, were now just a bike ride away. 

The bike to me at the ripe old age of 12 was independence and freedom!  It was also a way I cleared my head in solitude, as well as being a way to meet up with friends.

I recently read an article with the writer lamenting their feelings on why everyone doesn't "ride the right way" anymore.  Hmmmm.

Fast forward 46 years later and my bike(s) are still independence and freedom to me.  Additionally, they are a means to hook up with others and share a bike ride with friends. What they are not, is something where someone is going to tell me what I can ride, how I am supposed to ride, when I am supposed to ride, and who I am supposed to ride with.  To do so would be to spit in the face of the freedom and independence my bikes have brought to me for almost half a century!

You enjoy your ride, and I'll enjoy mine, and just maybe we'll have some great rides together too.

After a Year on the E-Bike

My e-bike on a bike ride in Maine this year.

Birmingham, Al.
David Hogan
Founder, Cycling Talk

It was August of last year when I bought my first e-bike from Bike-Link in Hoover. I've now logged over 3000 miles, changed the disc brakes, changed tires, been hit by a pick up truck, and now I play games with the motor to see how long I can go without it.

Do I still like my e-bike?  More than ever, and I'll tell you why in this article.

A Love of Bicycles

Our family has a long history of cycling that goes back to our love of weekend camping and throwing Dahon Folding bicycles in the back of the Tundra pickup on our many weekend camping trips. How much did we camp?  We gave the state of Alabama our website, outdooralabama.com, that's how much.

Riding around campgrounds was a combination of road biking, mountain biking, and dodging vehicles and walkers in great numbers. If you have ever been to Wind Creek State Park you know how crowded it gets.  My wife and I let our 3 boys enjoy the same freedoms on a bike we enjoyed from an early age back to my yellow Schwinn 10 speed of the 70's, that in my young mind was the ultimate freedom and exploration machine.

Fast Forward a Few Years

Campground cycling was about it for our time on bikes other than the boys riding around the neighborhood, as life during the work week was busy like it was for most everyone raising kids. We lived in the burbs and I have to admit, I was one of those fighting to keep my ego in check that would gripe about cyclist that got in my way.

I've found through a couple of years of group riding that my last statement is very common to those who pick biking up again during the middle age years. So why did I make this journey down memory lane to get to e-bikes?

It's Great to Ride Again, BUT THOSE DAMN KNEES

Yep, and I'll even spare you how riding again, helps me keep my diabetes in check, or the 40 pounds I've kept off in two years, but I will tell you I'm not a spring chicken anymore, and no matter how much "motivation" is thrown your way, or GUILT for that matter, your body will tell you what is going on.

Now, after saying that, the waters separate and people start picking sides about getting an e-bike, or toughing it out and building muscle, and lot's of other advice as well.  ALL I can say to that is I know my body and others don't, and if it weren't for my e-bike I would not have made the 3000 plus miles I rode since last year, especially up hills.

Heck Yeah I get a Workout!

IT didn't take me long on an e-bike to realize the range you get from the battery is NOT what everyone thinks it is. It's really pretty simple in regard to physics as what you get or take if you prefer from the pedal assist motor, directly impacts what is left in the battery.  So if your ride is all on flat roads, you'll have a lot more range on your battery than if you've been climbing hills all day on a ride.

So my IZip E3 Dash bike has a range of about 30 miles on the lowest power setting and with mostly flat roads.  That's more than enough for most group bike rides or even the average daily commute to work, but I pedal a little further than that many times and I've learned to stay out of the motor until I truly need it.  Doing that gives me even more of a workout because my ebike weighs about 65 pounds without the stuff I have in my hard shell case on the back rack.

YOU'RE CHEATING!!!

Oh if I had a dollar every time I've heard that one from somebody, yet I've not entered one race since I was in the Air Force years ago. My Strava rides clearly indicate my ebike and most of the time I'm the sweeper on group rides, so there isn't going to be too many personal records or king of the mountain stats. BUT, haters gonna hate.  Let them, they didn't buy it and they aren't you.  If you didn't have an ebike they'd gripe about the spandex you are or aren't wearing and several other things too, so let's move on from those folks and just learn to laugh them off.

Don't Forget the Gears

I did a lot of research before I bought my ebike and saw several cheaper models with no gears and some with a throttle.  The throttle was NOT something I even wanted to consider as I wanted the workout from pedaling, but you may need or want one and they do exist.

My ebike has 10 gears and I use them and the ebike cadence sensor knows when I'm using them too.  Let me explain.  If I'm riding down the road and I'm in 9th gear and turn on the motor (remember I keep it off a lot until needed) for an approaching hill, I can't feel any help from the motor at all!  BUT if I drop down to 4th gear the sensor and motor kicks in and says, OH he's going up a hill, OK, have some juice.

It won't take long on a smart ebike with a cadence sensor to realize it works with your gears. This is what allows you to continue to get a workout albeit an assisted one when needed. Look carefully at the gears available when buying one and I strongly encourage you to turn the motor off on a test ride and try out the gears without the motor on as well.

Charge It Please!

Removable battery with key in lock on an IZip ebike.

One thing I learned quickly was to charge the battery back up as soon as I got in from a ride and I mean right then too!  It's easy to forget to charge the battery when you are tired, but if you are leading a ride the next day or going to work you better have made that charge, so just go straight to the charger after a ride.

This brings us to another buying decision.  Some batteries can be removed and some can't and that can cause charging problems if you have to drag the entire bike near an outlet as opposed to just taking off the battery and going to the outlet. If you have a removable battery make sure it comes with a key and lock or you'll have to worry about someone stealing in when parked and batteries are around $500 for a replacement.

I'm Happy!

After a year of riding and learning about my ebike I am more than happy!  I'm riding more than ever, maintaining my weight loss and it allows me to do other things too like pull a trailer on group rides with supplies without giving it much of a thought. Don't forget that extra weight like a loaded trailer does impact the battery life.

If you want to cycle and feel it's too hard, or if you have health issues, or if you'd just like a more pleasant ride, by all means start researching and trying out ebikes. I'm always happy to let someone give mine a test drive.  Be safe out there.