ANAL--LOG: LOGIN OR LOGOUT?

OK, first, I get that it's a regulated industry and the airwaves belong to the people and all that stuff.

But the stations are still owned by people who risk their own American Dollars trying to make a profit selling time and space on a shrinking entertainment/information medium. Just for example of shrinkage: who gets news from TV anymore?

For ten years the Gov't has been telling the station owners what the shutdown day would be. Owners have invested and maintained accordingly. I think the nice folks at KHQA would tell you that their analog gear is being held together with wishes, paper clips and duct tape, praying for February 17 to come. Everything they have spent and planned has been pegged to that date.

A couple of weeks ago, Congress allowed stations to continue broadcasting in analog, if they wanted, but didn't require them to do so. The mandatory shutdown date was moved to June Somethingorother. Now, all of a sudden, the FCC seems to be saying "wait not just allowed to continue....you're mandated to continue."

In some cases, I don't think it's gonna work. The gear just won't make it another few months. If the stations have to repair it, they may have difficulty borrowing the money (FCC: News Flash--the lending thang isn't going too well).

To what end? So maybe less than one percent of the populace won't get an emergency warning that they could get on the radio? To be sure the representative one of the local stations (an otherwise really nice guy) is recently getting a little stuffy, testy and elitist about this. Still this same guy busted his hump to educate everybody on what needs to be done and I know he's generous with his time in one-on-one situations. The government payed for most of a converter box or two. Some group (can't remember who) was giving converter boxes to elderly and impoverished analog users. Just about anybody who is a "victim" of this changeover is a victim because he/she wants to be.

If the real reason for this changeover is to make more bandwidth for public safety, as advertised and that will make us all safer, why should we wait to be safer? Let the stations whose ana is logging (off) switch out on February 17 and let's all reprogram our tuners on February 18 and be safer sooner (and get a better picture and more channels over the air to boot!)

We're from the Government. We're here to help you. Sure, Bunky. Thanks.