Congress Delays DTV Till June 12

The US Government excels at doing nothing; so much so that when they're finally about to do something, they like to flex their muscles and show off how talented they really are at making sure that nothing gets done.

Take the February 17 crossover to digital broadcasting, which is now the June 12 crossover to digital broadcasting, a delay which passed by Congress and was unanimously approved in the Senate. Yes, 100 senators agreed on something, and it wasn't the ruined economy or the wasteful wars. It was making sure old ladies with rabbit ears don't miss their stories!

Now in fairness, the real reason the government decided not to do anything right now is because they did their homework and made sure that their lackeys didn't do the work necessary to effect the changeover: millions of old ladies are still waiting for digital converter box coupons - not the boxes, mind you, just the coupons. And since the National Telecominucations and Information Administration ran through the $1.3 billion earmarked for the coupons, requiring an additional $650 million stimulus, there was really no feasible way the government could have accomplished its goals on time.

Which is delightful, because it wouldn't have wanted to appear to be an effective governing body in this climate and accidentally our raise expectations.

Congress approves delay of digital-TV transition [CNet]