Nyet!
NYET!....The Obama administration wants to extend the February 17 deadline for TV stations to switch from analog to digital transmissions. I don't have a strong opinion about the merits of this delay, but check out the results of the roll call vote in Congress:
[Joe] Barton led the push to scuttle the bill, which passed the Senate unanimously on Monday night after lawmakers in that chamber struck a bipartisan compromise....But those concessions did not placate most Republicans in the House. Only 22 Republicans voted for the bill, while 155 voted against it.
So here we have a relatively nonideological issue. It went through a modest amount of give-and-take and a compromise was struck. And the result? 100% of Senate Republicans voted in favor but 90% of House Republicans voted against. Shazam!
Apparently the House GOP caucus really has decided to blindly stonewall everything Obama wants, no matter what. This is even more of a wakeup call than the vote on the stimulus bill.
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This actually is not a nonideological issue (or at least it's not a nonpartisan issue). Check out this post on the Corner:
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZGRiODI2Yzc2M2I2ZGI1N2IyMDEyZjY...
"Barack Obama has said he wants to delay the long-awaited switch to digital television, and he is likely to get his way. There were a great many reasons to oppose the transition to begin with, but why slow things down now that it is underway?
Here's why: the change would benefit one particular corporation at the expense of its competitors. The beneficiary happens to be the company where Obama's undisclosed advisor on this and other telecom issues (also a major donor) makes his living."
I'm looking for a speech from President Obama. It's the perfect opportunity for Obama to reach out to the Senate Republicans, letting them know that all White House input from Republicans comes from them from now on. Also letting the House Republicans know they are now voiceless, powerless, impotent, and a national joke. Only do it in that nice Obama way, hahaha!
When are they going to vote to get relevant programme content to the peoples communities, states, national, international channels? It has been too long that TV has been the tool of the military-industrial-complex, and not the needed peoples culture that is necessary for society to make an advance especially along the ecological green organic balances, non-aggressive pollution wars plain. So much has been done to ruin the planet by maximizing the cultural destruction of the planet for money that it literally is beginning to die. It seems to me that just changing power sources to review the same old nonsense is not good enough. What does it matter if the content of quality and quantity do not change favorably when the world outside needs ecological solidarity to begin its path to life and liberation again.
This is even more of a wakeup call than the vote on the stimulus bill.
I doubt this surprises the Obama team. Besides, the Senate is where bipartisanship actually matters. Given House rules and the huge (by recent standards) majority in favor of the Democrats, the only thing the GOP caucus can do is try to spin everything. I happen to think they are going about it in the wrong way, but what matters is how low-information swing voters react.
I would ask those people to chime in, but I'm thinking they are not reading this blog...
The difference is of course that Senators have the whole state as constituencies, while Representatives only have (usually heavily gerrymandered) districts. While most Republican Senators have to fear a backlash from being obstructionists, the Reps who represent the remaining pockets of Republican resistance must show that they oppose Obama on even the most arcane issues.
House Republicans are a pretty good example of what's left in the GOP from the ground up (the Senate is a lagging indicator, and is moderated by the fact that senators must win whole states rather than carefully drawn safe districts). If you want a good picture of what the base gooper is like, look in the Republican House caucus.
The party has long since passed the tipping point into fringe insanity. There are no more Lugars or Hagels (or even McCains) on the way up - it's radical wingnuttery through and through. There's no coming back from this, either; any moderates get run out of the organization quickly if ever they stumble into it.
As a country, we need a couple of things:
1. No more GOP presidents
Dubya was a harbinger of things to come. From now on all Republican presidential candidates will be know-nothing right wing fanatics (see Palin, S). None will be better than 43, and most will be much worse.
2. The death of the GOP with all possible speed
Luckily we're getting an assist on this from the party itself. Assuming we make it through the current disaster, Republicans will have set themselves up both as cause for the catastrophe and adamant opponents of doing anything to fix it.
The hell of it is on this particular issue (whether or not to delay the digital TV transition) the goopers have blundered into a nut and are holding the correct position for once. Putting in another delay is stupid.
BubbleT interesting link and it will be good to see how this plays out.
'nother interesting link:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/01/28/nasa_climate_theon/
"Hansen supervisor takes aim at thermageddon
By Andrew Orlowski
Posted in Environment, 28th January 2009 14:18 GMT
The retired scientist formerly in charge of key NASA climate programs has come out as a sceptic.
Dr John Theon, who supervised James Hansen - the activist-scientist who helped give the manmade global warming hypothesis centre prominent media attention - repents at length in a published letter. Theon wrote to the Minority Office at the Environment and Public Works Committee on January 15, 2009, and excerpts were published by skeptic Senator Inhofe's office here last night.
"As Chief of several of NASA Headquarters' programs (1982-94), an SES position, I was responsible for all weather and climate research in the entire agency, including the research work by James Hansen, Roy Spencer, Joanne Simpson, and several hundred other scientists at NASA field centers, in academia, and in the private sector who worked on climate research," Theon wrote. "I appreciate the opportunity to add my name to those who disagree that global warming is man made."
Theon takes aim at the models, and implicitly criticises Hansen for revising to the data set:
"My own belief concerning anthropogenic climate change is that the models do not realistically simulate the climate system because there are many very important sub-grid scale processes that the models either replicate poorly or completely omit. Furthermore, some scientists have manipulated the observed data to justify their model results. In doing so, they neither explain what they have modified in the observations, nor explain how they did it."
nb: orlowski is a f'n jackass 84% of the time. but 16% of the time, he writes an interesting column.
"House Republicans say a delay also would burden wireless companies and public safety agencies waiting for the spectrum that will be freed up by the switch, and create added costs for television stations that would have to continue broadcasting both analog and digital signals for four more months."
So they had reasons. Maybe they're good ones, maybe they are not. We can gather information, review argumetns and make up our own minds.
But does Kevin do any of this? No. He flatly accuses over 100 people of lying and of having ulterior motives, without any examination of the issues. He does this with no discussion and no substantiation.
What a risible performance.
I am damn glad the bill failed. No more fucking extensions! People will not be switching until they HAVE to. They are either too stupid, or too lazy to do it since it actually costs a person NOTHING. It has been plastered across the television on every god damn channel for a year.
I am damn sick of it. Enough.
I was given to understand that the reason for delaying the transition was because the Bush administration had underfunded the rebate program, such that it has a waiting list of many months, with several million eligible Americans yet to try to take advantage of it. Folks looking for corruption in the Obama administration and excuses to rip on poor people are barking up the wrong tree.
dob: that's my understanding as well.
I've noticed the presence of Republican trolls has increased noticeably at nearly every center-to-left site I visit -- some of them obviously the same individuals, making rounds. The days of the blast fax have finally given way to the days of the email "newsletter" for these folks.
In regards to Obama's inside man, this was posted on the original article on the Examiner:
POSTED Jan 19, 2009
Techuntangled.com: "This article is somewhat misleading and contains misunderstood information. For example,".....Sprint pays Clearwire to connect your Blackberry to the Internet ..." Today there is no BlackBerry that works on WiMAX (the network that clearwire is building). This network isn't even built out, except in a few cities (anyone know a sprint customer who uses wimax???). Furthermore, Verizon and others who bought 700 MHz spectrum will not be adversely affected unless the DTV transition is put off till 2010. According to public statements, Verizon doesn't plan to offer a service on this spectrum till 2010. The article makes good points, but without specifying when the Obama administration is putting off the DTV transition, it misses the point."
Now, unfortunately, Mr. Unlimited does not cite sources, but if you go over to his blog, you will find lots of precise technical information as well as marketing and business plan information about the telecoms. If you are doubtful of his knowledge, feel free to go solicit sources. I am willing to take this one at its face. Now, if July rolls around and there is a push to extend the deadline to 2Q10, then maybe something's rotten etc. etc.
For the first time in my life, I agree with the House Republicans.
Why on earth should the government be interfering with the technical matter of television broadcasting?
Let the market decide, not Congress. Letting corporations buy their favored policy from Congress to avoid market competition is disgusting. Democrats supporting this is worse.
This is also the first time I have agreed with House Republicans.
Extending the switch to Digital TV will create a huge burden for stations that already have plans in place for the Feb 17th date. Not only does this impact commercial TV stations, but it also impacts the dwindling budget of PBS. They cannot afford to run an analog and digital transmitter at the same time for another four months.
I do think that the government should fix the issues with the converter coupons. More funding would help.
The main problem with the coupon converter boxes is that the retail stores intentionally priced them at $60, so even with a $40 coupon, the consumer has to fork over $20. Those boxes are only worth $40.
I also question that figure of 6.5 million who are not ready. That number comes from Nielson, who is consistently wrong about their ratings numbers. Nielson also cut a deal of tax breaks with the city of Oldsmar, FL with a promise to create local jobs. Nielson responded by laying off US citizens and staffing those jobs with low paid contractors from India. Nielson is not a trustworthy company. Their numbers are not reliable.
@Luther
So what do you say to engineers and other people working at local TV stations? "We do not care that you spend a year prepping for this switchover. We want your station to continue to power both your analog and digital transmitters for another four months. Never mind that the unnecessary extra costs may force the TV station to lay off workers."
That is a great way to stimulate the economy.
Sob. What are we going to say to the poor people and their children and the old people whose televisions will grow dark? "Hey, lardass. Get some exercise."
Meh. I think it would be a great make-work program! The new alphabet soup starts with the RDTVC!
HungChad, you are not the only one. I am filled with dismay at the thought of having to see that DTV This Old House episode again.
The economy's losers are going to be even more upset with the Republicans over this issue than over the no votes on the stimulus. People who can no longer afford cable and satellite TV will blame Republicans for having to either purchase a digital box or a digital TV in order to receive digital broadcasts. Republicans must not understand the economic pain their constituents are going through, or, if they do understand, want them to suffer. How they think increasing that suffering through opposition to Obama is going to help them electorally is a mystery.
What it shows, AJB, is just pure arrogance and ignorance combined. Certainly makes you out to be a whole lot dumber than the people you are complaining about.
Good jorb!
(There are only 10 types of people in the world
those who understand binary, and those who don't. We know which group you're in.)
I'm with Luther on this. It would not be such a bad thing if a lot of TVs went dark for a while.
It seems to me that the people who really cared about this would already have a converter box or a newer digital TV.
(I will recant a bit. There are probably older people and invalids and some with few resources that are having a hard time with this change.)
Re: "let the market fix this", that is almost impossible. That's like saying let the market settle whether we drive on the left or right side of the road. Eventually there might be a consensus, but at the cost of untold numbers of lives. The market can settle some aspects of this, but you need a regulatory agency to set the rules of the road.
After the election ,one of the first interviews with an elder Republican politician ( sorry, can't remember who) said "..this is still a right-of-center country.' Bwaa Ha Ha!
These "politicians" (usually defined as someone skilled in the art of politics!!?) have been looking in the mirror so long that all they can see are themselves.
Dr. No
Seriously, why is it the government's business to order some technical conversion in television? That is a complete was of public resources.
Television service is a useless luxury of no concern to government. Using government regulations to control a private marketplace for zero public interest benenfit is just government by corporate check.
Sad to see so many Democrats supporting this kind of centralized market planning.
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