So I find myself agreeing with House Republicans, which makes me feel kind of dirty (where’s the Liberal Confessional when you need it). Not on the economic stimulus thingie, but on something more important: the analog teevee cutoff.

President Obama has been pushing to extend the February 17 changeover to all digital TV. Due to mismanagement (surprise, surprise) by the Bushies, the digital converter coupon fund has run out of money (there are apparently 3 million folks on the waiting list for the $40 coupons), and an estimated 6.5 million households are unprepared (meaning on all but low-power stations, which are exempt, all they’ll see is a whole lotta nothing on their teevees in three weeks or so). The Senate passed a bill to extend the deadline for four months, but the House failed to pass their version (by a large enough margin) yesterday.

While I feel a certain amount of comradeship with the procrastinators out there, I really don’t think extending the deadline will help. The only real way to give these slackers a kick in the butt is to have their teevees stop working. Few things strike more fear into the heart of Americans than the loss of their electronic babysitter. Once they see snow on the box (so to speak), they’ll get themselves out to the nearest Best Buy and take care of business.

I do feel bad for the old and/or lonely folks out there without friends and family who kind of rely on the TV for news and companionship. I can see them, slack-jawed and stunned, awash in the flickering glow of their snow-filled Zeniths, twisting knobs and fiddling with rabbit ears. No doubt a lot of TV repair people will make a lot of money on house calls come February 18.

But time marches on, and, in the scheme of things, these people will be better off without broadcast TV for a few days. There’s always the radio or (god forbid) they might even pick up a book. I know one of the things that I’ve all but abandoned in this electronic age is reading books. I can’t seem to concentrate on more than a paragraph or two these days (I keep trying to click something). It made going back to school pretty tough.

The House is apparently scheduling a new vote in an effort to pass an extension (because there’s nothing more important going on out there than teevee). Personally, I hope that fails as well. It’s time to put our long national analog TV nightmare behind us.