Republicans Block Bill to Delay Digital TV Transition, Leaving Millions Unprepared for Switch
Consumer groups had lobbied for the delay, worried that 20 million mostly poor, elderly and rural households are not ready.
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OK…this is one of those rare issues about which I really don’t have much of an opinion. Not that I don’t care about the poor and the elderly and their access to vital information, especially in the event of emergency; I just haven’t given the matter much thought. There are, after all, bigger political fish to fry than whether or not television goes digital. After my personal and familial issues are considered, you understand, my pea brain only has so much additional room in it for excess worry and concern.
I do have to say, though, that if the poor and elderly people these consumer groups are concerned about have not seen at least one of the three million or so tv commercials describing how to get a free converter for their archaic televisions…well, they apparently are not watching much television anyway, so perhaps we should not assume that television is the best way to communicate with those people in the event of emergency.
I also have to ask: Why is it so vital that all televisions go digital in the first place? Why are “they” doing this (and who is the “they” that made the decision?)? In light of the fact that they have apparently run "out of funding for coupons subsidizing digital converter boxes" why the objection to delaying conversion for just a few months?
Weird.
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