Democrats wanting to push back the switch to digital TV is a great example of why certain philosophies create more and more helpless people.
The children I teach have grown up in a world where deadlines mean nothing, start times are just a suggestion. I guess we are seeing that philosophy shining through here as well.
Some of you get mad when I blame this on liberals or liberalism, but who is doing this?
It is Democrats who don't think that 13 years is enough time for people to get ready for a switch.
Why is it the federal govts job to make sure people can watch TV?
Why do we expect so little from Americans?
It is this mentality that creates people who are flat out lazy, irresponsible and helpless.
You can get mad at that, but facts are facts.
And guess what, people who are not ready for this now will not be ready later either. Expect more from people and they will give you more.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Does the government have to do everything for us? The digital TV debate
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14 comments:
You do know that the airwaves belong to us, not the telecom companies, right?
i disagree....you're mixing up two, seperate, distinct issues...the conversion to digital, and irresponsibility of the public
first, the "F" part of "FCC" stands for "Federal"...by definition, the government IS responsible for an orderly changeover, it is simply that the demand for the converters outstripped supply, and the government did a poor job, in terms of the coupon distribution, kowtowing to foolish demands for pointless expiration dates, and uneven and net-exclusive distribution of the coupons themselves
secondly, the digital transmissions in certain parts of the country have experienced technical difficulties, and it is older folks in rural areas, not welfarians in the cities, who will be forced into a "nuclear winter" of news and essential information (remember, many of our seniors cannot even afford the converters WITH a coupon, and not every elderly parent has children who meet their responsibilities to their elders)....
you've never heard of an older person, baffled by a blinking vcr, or even a clock radio?
you've never been mystified by some particular piece of new technology yourself?
at any rate, the conversion will, as of now, be going on as planned
i have heard much (although i do not believe it) guff spoken as of late, that "conservatives" are the largest donors to charities, and this is supposed to offset government responsibilities to the public (even when government initiatives are involved, LOL!)
and, i have heard of many folks, who have cable and satellite, yet are still entitled to their two coupons for converters, using their coupons to buy an elderly, infirm, or impoverished family a converter, and using their superior tech skills to actually install them, for the grateful recipients...
game, would YOU, or any of the other commenters here, who agree with your assertion that it is their fault they cannot afford, or cannot install this equipment, rise to this challenge?
are you willing to spend twenty bucks to demonstrate, in concrete fashion, how "conservatives" are capable of filling the gaps of social need in your own communities through charitable deeds, by donating your time, your patience, and your money?
if you are, more power to you, but i am certain few are willing to put themselves out even that much
if my parents needed it I would be happy to do it...
So if old people couldn't figure this out in 13 years, what is going to change in the next few months?
It makes no sense.
But you are right, conservatives do give more of their own money to charity than liberals...so way to know your facts there...
Um, who blocked the extension?
"So if old people couldn't figure this out in 13 years, what is going to change in the next few months?..."
game, you are absolutely unreal...this lack of basic, human empathy is why the elderly freeze in their homes, for fear that their grown children will ridicule them, why desert storm vets needing brain surgery are always the ones pushed aside, and why WWII vets wallow in their own filth, untended, in va hospitals
what IS it with your utterly self-absorbed, selfish generation??
why is your every response to immediately pull into your own shell, and "let the other guy do it?"
then you scream about the "nanny state"...but whose lack of sense of responsibility let them in??
Unbelievable...and another example of failed "conservative" thought processes...to hell with heading off a problem before it becomes a critical issue...then, let the other guy do it, LOL!
Game, I basically agree with your post but tire of you always looking for an enemy to hate. and realism, sorry but no. As a radio veteran I must inform you that broadcast outlets are private businesses and the fcc for the most part assure the signals don't overlap.
That is not why I am visiting though. This is off topic but since you never seem to visit "the other side" I want to offer up this.
I have been wearing of politics in general lately. Mainly because it has all been said and the right insists on saying it over and over again. Their stance and direction has truly become childish to me. Here is what I see. Tell me if you agree.
There is no room for debate. Conservatism can't fail it can only be failed. If a conservative policy doesn't work it is only because someone got in the way and of course it was an evil liberal/socialist/terrorist sympathizer that got in the way. Their facts and sources are legitimate and any others are liberal and biased. The radical right is completely utterly correct in all circumstances and if you disagree even a little your are always completely and utterly wrong. Everyone that doesn't agree with everything they pontificate is a liberal and is against the American way...always. The radical right are pure good and those that disagree with them are pure evil and intentionally out to destroy our economy, our country, and our world. Their theme is you are with us completely or you are against us. Hypocrisy, even when pointed out in Imax Technicolor is not hypocrisy, it is allowed because the situation is different. This only applies to conservatism. If it is not far right conservatism the above rule doesn't apply. Fear and hate will keep us safe. Love and compassion is for losers. Empathy, old thinking. Not even in the rights dictionary.
This pretty much sums up every argument that I have had over the past several years. Ok, I get it and I'm not buying. Now what?
Please feel free to comment and prove me right...correct.
In case you are unclear on what I am saying note this very post. If you would have left out this part:
Some of you get mad when I blame this on liberals or liberalism, but who is doing this?
It is Democrats who don't think that 13 years is enough time for people to get ready for a switch.
It would have been an excellent post. Why do you find it impossible to debate ideas or ideals without creating animosity or an enemy? Why is that important and doesn't that kind of talk dissuade instead of encourage people to join your side of the argument. Why do you insist on dividing? You are all PCDed.
ron, of COURSE, it's foolish
look at the way the false dichotomy is set up, the way we all fall victim to the tendency to spout this talking point or that, even the uniform, rigid paths that have allowed for absolutely relentless pseudo-political rhetoric on talk radio and the cable punditocracy
the few corporate entities that own everything like it that way, they NEED for it to be this way,
it requires little investment of any sort, capital or otherwise
i see it all as temporary, as events become more cataclysmic, and the walls come tumblin' down
in the interim, it really is a war, a nation divided, and we thrust and parry, bicker over points...very little of it will matter soon, we're setting ourselves up for the big fall, this time, IMHO
and, i disagree about one thing, spirited debate keeps the PCDs, away, God willing, LOL!
Hash, I agree. You've got it. People are going to be forced to see and understand things they resist with all their will.People of all persuasions and religions. There will be no choice. Our little disagreements will look foolish in hindsight.
hash said:
what IS it with your utterly self-absorbed, selfish generation??
and Hash's solution, Hash's solution to selfishness is to pusll back a deadline...
So even if I am a selfish prick, you support something that does nothing to help anyone..
Atleast I try and hold everyone up to a higher standard so they can reach it.
actually, i didn't favor pushing the deadline back at all, at first, from a business perspective, it will be harmful, for the old frequencies have already been allocated, and i believed we should put the needs of our first responders, and security concerns first
on the other hand, if barky needs to pay back his benefactors and pander to select constituencies in one fellswoop, there is a point, in that the entire program was mismanaged, and the private sector was unable to fulfill orders for the necessary converters on a timely basis, so a legitimate beef over the way the previous administration mishandled these challenges, does exist
what we never heard (and never will), is a realistic and non-biased estimate, of the relative merits of sticking to the deadline, or extending it, and how it would affect all parties involved, and that's what happens when you have a government-media complex, that's too busy slobbering over a candidate, to notice anything else going on
my issue with your attitude, game, is, you obviously have the intelligence to realize that there ARE individuals, the disabled and elderly, who, for whatever reason, have absolutely no one to help them procure the necessary converter, much less install it, and familiar themselves with the necessary new antenna, channel numbering sequences, orientation for reception, etc....i also know you understand that there are those elderly/disabled folks, who literally don't have the wherewithal to buy the converter, even with/without a coupon they most likely have no online access to...
and i am challenging the idea that government must NEVER help those in need, which you consistently express...
i am challenging the concept that "conservatives", guided by immoral neocon principals, for almost three decades, have pushed...the myth that charitable donations and community support (and, SURPRISE! that would be you, LOL!) should fill the unmet social and practical needs of those most vulnerable...
yes, i am calling you out on this point, game, for you are a young man, who should step up as a leader, not a follower, in your own community, and put your own messages of self-reliance to work in your own community, it would take you all of ten minutes to install an older lady's converter, and give her basic information as to how to operate it, so she might have visual access to basic news and information, particularly since, she herself is of the generation, that invented the medium for OUR benefit!
yet, you still howl in anger and frustration, over how you might feel compelled to help (gasp!) a STRANGER, LOL!
and that's exactly my point about failed "conservative" policies regarding replacement of basic, essential services for the needy, with faith-based or charitable works within communities...they may have enough resources and hands-on ability for touching sound bites and self-indulgent "weekly shopper" articles, but they cannot totally meet those basic needs, for, in today's age, too many men look for "the other guy" to pick up their slack
i don't know what higher "standards" you expect from the
elderly/disabled, veterans of foreign wars, etc.....it would seem to me, they'd met them before you were even born
hash said:
and i am challenging the idea that government must NEVER help those in need, which you consistently express...
I do not say that...there is times it is fine...and I see hundreds of boxes at best buy everytime I go in...your just making excuses
no "excuses" here, game...i've already helped two elderly women in the neighborhood get hooked up for the transition, advised another older gentleman as to what sort of cable package he should have installed...there's always time, as long as you MAKE the time, to help those in need
"I do not say that...there is times it is fine...and I see hundreds of boxes at best buy everytime I go in.."
you consistently say that, it is your only argument, for any weakness you perceive in this country, that's your excuse, for over twenty-eight years, of consistently failed "conservative" policies, and your embrace of a fringe neocon ideology, that is the true impediment to democracy, stability, and progress, for the vast majority of american working families
are you seriously basing the availability of set-top boxes across the nation on a best buy store in a fairly well-populated area, LOL?
what about montana, game? what about west virginia, and washington state, and wyoming, and kentucky??
and how often can you afford to go to best buy, for new toys and games, if you're so beleagured by your own over-burdensome tax obligations, and the expenses only republicans seem to incur, LOL?
oh, game, don't take offense, i hear this sort of thing from otherwise "together" guys your age, there's just a disconnect in priorities, that almost rivals that between the ghettoes and the suburbs, and it's age-based, not class or race
game, here's a perfect example of what i'm talking about
recently, a few miles from my home, there was an emergency water landing on the river, of a commercial passenger plane, the pilot was well-trained, and everyone was successfully rescued from the freezing water, thanks be to God
now, the company has compensated each passenger, five grand, along with one year's "preferred" flying status...the feedback from the passengers was revealing, to say the least
the disparity between the attitude of the passengers over forty, and those under forty, differed markedly...one woman from the older group, tried to send the check back, saying it was too much compared to the luggage and possessions, she'd actually lost
when the company insisted she keep it, she set up a charitable fund, in the pilot's name, dedicated to iraq war vets
the younger passengers interviewed, in contrast, to a person, declared the "settlement" insufficient and stingy, complained that they were not emotionally prepared to fly for some time, and therefore were being "cheated" out of the time granted on the preferred status plan! several inferred they fully intended to sue for more, and felt quite entitled to a higher level of compensation, for their alleged suffering
yet, they LIVED! the vast majority were not even injured!
that is what i'm saying, a certain amount of this entitlement attitude, has traversed the line between the ghettoes and the suburbs, and i can see it in those, particularly under forty, who perpetually feel cheated by life, and i suspect, many who claim to have political beefs and righteousness over social issues, and "them", are simply misdirecting their ire over personal setbacks and unsatisfied material desires, that's all
it's all indicative of deeper, spiritual lack, a sense of proportion, and a loss of humility, all of which, a larger number of "under 40s" seem to manifest
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