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US Still Dithering Over Analog-Digital TV Conversion
Robin Ingenthron writes "As 2007 gets closer, the legislation to postpone mandatory transition from Analog TV broadcast to Digital is taking shape. Here's an idea - make the broadcasters pay to use the airwaves (they get both analog and digital spectrum for free). For that matter, why permanently auction the bandwidth to cell phone companies, why not rent it to them too? Each postponement keeps the Fed budget in the red, so consumers have a choice -- between analog (black borders on the sides of their digital TVs) and digital (black borders on the top and bottom of their analog TV)."
If we ran our households like the Fed runs itself our TV's would be one large seamless black border. Along with our lights, microwaves, computers, et al.
(B) + (D) + (B) + (D) = (K) + (&)
How about we just not mandate that the signals go all digital?
How about we don't? How about we allow the free market to determine what customers want instead of forcing providers to deliver content in the format that the government deems acceptable?
Having said that, I agree with you that this is an absurd abuse of taxpayer funds. It's incredible that Congressmen are now advocating subsidizing T.V. viewing for the "needy". Actually, it's not so surprising. We can't have the public turn away from the most effective propaganda tool ever conceived, can we? How would politicians justify their existance without poisoning the minds of the public?
"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." -- Ambrose Bierce