I may have wondered out loud before: how is it that certain things which have nothing to do with politics nevertheless divide on party lines? Anthropogenic climate change, existence of. Evolution, belief in. The latest is simply beyond comprehension. Despite a unanimous vote in the Senate, House Republicans, almost to a man/woman, voted down a bill to delay conversion to digital TV. Evidently, millions of homes aren't yet ready. So what's the problem with delay? And why is it that only Republicans are against it? And, at that, only House Republicans!
Oh, they had a couple of reasons that seemed not to bother any Senators, but I'm thinking they figure the less the public sees of them, the more they can get away with shit. Or maybe it's a "personal responsibility" thing. Yeah, that's it. They have higher morals than those poor bastards who haven't been able to get ready. Not to mention a hell of a lot more time on their hands.
I wonder what sort of reëlection campaign would center around bragging that they voted against rescuing the economy and helped people lose their television shows.
And I wonder -- because I literally cannot figure it out -- how House Republicans can say and do the things they say and do.
I've said this before, too: we are well and truly screwed.
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Really, Sid, who watches TV with an antenna anyway?? I can't believe you're makin an issue out of this one...somehow I think it'll be fixed in time for the NBA finals....
ReplyDeleteFrank, Frank, Frank: my question is why such an issue splits on party lines. Rabbit ears are dead to me.
ReplyDeleteThere's been bitching about it here too. It's not like I watch the telly at home anymore, and a set-top box is less than €100, anyway.
ReplyDeleteMore importantly: YAY! Diaeresis!
Funny, the part of the country I live in, there are lots of people who still use an antenna.
ReplyDeleteI'm not one of them. DTV for me.
Because I Want Digital M-TV Dammit!!! You gotta point though (and not the one on your head), not sure why this breaks down by parties...don't you want your PBS Newshour/PMSNBC in crystal clear digital clarity??
ReplyDeleteSure it's about personal responsibility, Sid. It's also about acting like you're not entitled to have life handed to you on a silver platter. TELEVISION IS NOT A HUMAN RIGHT. Even though I disagree with government mandating things like that, the fact is, they did, and it was WELL announced for years before this. Shame on Obama for pandering to people's desire to avoid any consequence for their mistakes (or procrastination).
ReplyDeleteJeebus, man: get your head out of, well, you know. We're talking about delaying something for a couple of months, or not. Silver platter? Rights? Blithering much? Really, it's close to embarrassing to think I attract readers like this.
ReplyDeleteObama? Pandering? What bullshit! The entire fricking Senate voted for the delay, every last one of them. My question was what's different about House Republicans; why is such a thing a party line issue? If your screed is right, what about the Senate?
But your screed is not right. It's, once again, totally off point and a completely illogical response to my post. So what else is new?
What bullshit! The entire fricking Senate voted for the...war in Iraq. Well, Clinton, Kerry...
ReplyDeleteOh, I see your point. It's that, uh, well it's that, um. No wait: what is your point?
ReplyDeleteA problem is that TV stations have spent millions on equipment upgrades to support DTV -- without much promise of a payback -- and they have an engineering schedule to keep. Delaying the transition will cost them all even more in terms of schedule slippage with tower contractors, engineers, leasing tower space for both systems, and the like. At least the new Senate bill attempts to resolve that issue.
ReplyDelete