Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) described the upcoming economic recovery package, saying that it will not resemble a 1930’s public works project and will instead be a much more modern and innovative attempt to rebuild the American economy (0:18).
According to Christopher A. McLean, Executive Director of the Consumer Electronics Retailers Coalition, in Wilmington, N.C., where the FCC had designated the town as the first test market, consumers put off buying converter boxes until the weekend before the conversion (0:43).
Anthony G. Wilhelm, PhD of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration says that the Commerce Department has given 40 million coupons for the DTV (Digital Television)converter box to 21 million households. To date, 16 million have been used in stores (0:22).
While the Presidential transition has garnered massive amounts of attention, a different kind transition looms before America. On February 17th television stations will no longer broadcast in analog, and will instead broadcast digitally, requiring viewers without digital TV’s or cable to purchase converter boxes to continue watching. According to the Urban Progressive Foundation (UPF), this requirement may generate a crisis in underserved communities.
“Unfortunately, there is a disproportionate number of underserved communities that are being impacted tremendously by the transition to digital television, we’re dealing with elderly, minorities, disabled, and rural [communities],” said Denise Rhodes, Executive Director of the UPF during a panel discussion on the transition.
Rhodes pointed out that there are 35 million Americans who still use rabbit ear and rooftop antennas, and is concerned that they will be ignored following the conversion.
One aspect of the conversion that has discouraged many consumers is the cost of the conversion box, currently sold at roughly $50. Magaly Rivera, Development Director of the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network, INC. described the reaction to the price from a workshop their organization held to prepare day workers and English students.
“From the moment that the question came up as to how much the converter box was, about 70% of the audience left. That means for them, food is important. For them, being able to work and have job skills is important. Being able to learn another language, namely English, is important. They do not see having a TV set as a critical, necessary, criteria.”
To mitigate fears of affordability, the Commerce Department has issued coupons that would cover $40 dollars for the converter box’s cost to 21 million households. However, 11 million of these coupons have already expired with no possibility for renewal.
There are questions regarding whether the U.S. will be ready by February. These concerns arose recently in Wilmington, N.C., where the FCC had designated the town as the first test market.
“As a rule, Americans procrastinate. We saw a surge the weekend before the conversion in our stores and in that particular case, that was the weekend that had a hurricane bearing upon Wilmington, N.C.,” said Christopher A. McLean, Executive Director of the Consumer Electronics Retailers Coalition.
“People wait to request the coupons, they wait to go shopping, and they waited to install. A number of folks didn’t do their installation and didn’t know they had difficulties until the date had come upon them.”
“We are working hard to work ourselves out of a job,” Army Col. Mark Dewhurst, commander of the 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, said during a live brief from Iraq. The combined efforts with the Iraqi security forces are the cornerstone against insurgents, Dewhurst said, and he’s seen a lot of developments in the area in the year since he’s been there. Listed among the most surprising, “the amount of traffic jams,” was among them. This, actually, is evidence of how well the Iraqi Security Forces are functioning, Dewhurst said, because it means that people are coming out to the market places. Of particular note is a landmark in Baghdad that Dewhurst called the “Book Market.” Practically obliterated in March of 2007, the Book Market is due to open most likely by next week, and it was rebuilt on the initiative and work of the Iraq government itself, he said.
Also in Baghdad is the Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team, with Team Leader Conrad Tribble helping the Iraqis find “Iraqi solutions” to their own problems. There are five main areas that the PRT is working on, Tribble said. Assistance with governance, political development, business and economic growth, non-governmental organizations, and reconciliations among communities, are the goals the PRT strives toward. Governance, specifically, was elaborated on, with Tribble saying they “Coach, Teach, Mentor’ the Iraqi people, specifically with municipal city works, planning, budgeting, resource management, and how to track service requests. “A lot of it is very mundane,” Tribble said, but they are being taught how to conduct day to day level things. It’s “very nuts and bolts,” he said, and “not very glamorous.”
Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) expresses disappointment that the Senate did not pass the bailout bill but also said that the Bush administation may have the correct answer. (1:43)
The United Nations University (UNU) brought emerging thinkers together this week at UN headquarters to examine human rights law in the next 60 years. The briefing was organized as a follow up to the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights being held around the world.
Thomas Pogge, Leitner Professor of Philosophy at Yale University and Jean-Marc Coicaud, head of the UNU in New York, proposed re-examining human rights law and the fundamental components for democratic self-government, civil rights and economic sufficiency. They suggested that continuous efforts by civil society -NGO’s (non-governmental organizations, local groups), could counteract damaging forces like the WTO (World Trade Organization) and IMF (International Monetary Fund) that often work to reduce the value of currency in developing countries and leave many governments in the hands of Western powers due to foreign aid debt.
Pogge underscored that international human rights law policy must be geared towards protecting individuals from the actions of the state. He argued that human rights initiatives in countries must be better developed to meet these growing human security challenges.
The UNU is a think-tank of the UN system and generates policy research on global issues on the UN agenda and serves as an intellectual and policy-bridge among the UN system, member-states and NGO’s and academia. Its headquarters are in Tokyo.
Brett Littlefield, Director of Communications at the American Conservative Union, believes the Senate made the right decision in not passing the automobile bailout package. (0:22)
The Heritage Foundation held a conference with the guest speaker George Allen, former Republican Governor/Senator of Virginia, on what happens when the state you live in turns left. Allen said that we as a nation need to restart our creative engines. Allen spoke about the different issues that currently affecting the American people. Education and clean affordable fuel were two topics he focused on the most.
“The next step for education reform is school choice. Every family should have the same option to choose where they to go to school,” Allen said. Allen said that he believes that it shouldn’t matter what economic class or social class a child falls into when focusing on school placement, but it should depend on what school will affect a child the most in a positive way.
Allen also spoke about clean and affordable fuel and new steps that America needs to take to take on this problem. “Americans are not addicted to oil. Americans are addicted to freedom, the freedom to move where and when we want. We don’t care if oil comes from Alaska or Louisiana, just as long as it’s clean and affordable,” Allen said. He also believes that the focus for clean fuel should be placed on coal and solar. With solar being virtually free and coal, the second least expensive natural resource available, Allen believes that those two are the key to the future for America.
Kevin Hassett, Director of Economic Policy Studies and a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, says that labor costs must be reduced for automobile companies to survive. (0:34)
