January 4, 2013

There were 2 posts published on January 4, 2013 (this is page 1 of 1).

Time Warner Cable drops Current after Al Jazeera sale

Current TV, an independent TV channel owned in part by Al Gore, was sold to Al Jazeera this week. Time Warner Cable immediately responded by pulling Current TV off its lineup.

I’m one of the few Americans who can watch Al Jazeera on my television, thanks to my Free to Air satellite dish. Al Jazeera is everything CNN used to be. It offers plucky, daring reporting and strives to report the truth. It is also not beholden to Wall Street. It’s signal is broadcast above America completely free and clear.

What’s more, so much of America’s foreign policy involves the Middle East. Al Jazeera covers the Mideast better than any other network, hands down. I will always recall being transfixed at the live images Al Jazeera beamed from Tahir Square during Egypt’s Arab Spring. Al Jazeera is arguably more successful in spreading democracy than even the U.S. military.

If Americans discovered an independent, reliable news channel existed outside of the monopoly that controls American media, why, they might start paying attention to the important issues of our world. Can’t have that, can we?

Germ-central

Well, that was an interesting 48 hours. The evening following our fun brunch at our neighbors’ home, Kelly remarked how emotional our son was acting. She had a hunch he wasn’t feeling well.

That night, we discovered that Kelly’s Mom Sense was right on the money, only it began with Hallie, not Travis. Both kids spent all night throwing up. We finally turned a corner about 3:30 AM.

I worked from home yesterday, caring for our sick kids and doing a huge amount of laundry. Kelly had to make a business trip to Charlotte, which she somehow successfully did on reduced sleep. When she returned she had zero appetite and, not long afterward, she fell victim, too. She had a rough night last night. Fortunately today the kids seem to be 90% or so and took care of her while I was at work this morning.

Somehow I’ve managed to avoid all of this germy muck, though I was everywhere my family was over the past few days and I’ve also eaten everything they’ve eaten. While the rest of the family was laid low last night, I felt a burst of energy and took down our Christmas tree single-handedly. I’ve often thought I have the most sensitive stomach in the family but I may need to change my thinking.

At any rate, the Turners seem to be all on the mend. Our kids are pining to return to school, too. Things appear to be returning to normal.