And Obama's duty-bound to preserve it:

The countdown clock is ticking on the digital television transition and it is becoming increasingly clear that the nation will not be ready. Analog television broadcasts are scheduled to stop on Feb. 17 and, after that, only digital signals are to be available. Then millions of Americans who rely on analog TV sets and antennas must start using converter boxes that will allow them to receive digital signals, or see only a black screen.

In 2005, Congress devised a program meant to ensure that this transition would be smooth. But with 40 days to go, it is now clear that we are heading for a train wreck — unless Congress delays the transition for a few months to allow more time to prepare.

I'm conflicted on this. The idea that government—after years of preparation, public service announcements, and appropriations—must cater to the American living room as a portal to the swill of American broadcast is disappointing. I mean, have you seen television recently? But I'm a little out of touch with broadcast television viewers, I suppose; considering I got my analog TV for $20 at a garage sale and share a cable bill with five other people. I don't need the ethereal connection to the towers that loom over my house.

Is television a right? The airwaves are owned by the government—the people—but you've got to pay for a working television. If you only have a radio, you don't have a right to watch television at home. As analog sets become the extinct technology, you've got to pay to keep up.

But somewhere in the cockles of my callous heart, I'm concerned that the viewers hardest hit by the television conversion will be the poor and the uneducated. Although broadcast television is a subpar conduit for information—man, is it subpar—these folks are the least likely to have an alternative news source. Owning a computer and an internet connection, or having a paid subscription to the newspaper, is a privilege of class, income, etc. So perhaps the government should wait a while. Nonetheless, I'd be happier about the delay if the Obama Administration also were to push a program for $100 computers in every home and free wifi across every city.