TVSquad

Chalk this up to one of those items that got lost amidst all of the other crap that goes on in Congress. Last week, in a vote of 357-72, members of the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly rejected President Bush's plan to eliminate the $420 million dollar subsidy the federal government pays for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The CPB was created by Congress back in 1967 to shield public broadcasting from political influence. The funds they receive are distributed between PBS and local public television stations as well as National Public Radio and its affiliates. Funding for the CPB has been a point of contention in Congress over the last few years. Two years ago Republicans attempted but failed to slash the public broadcasting subsidies (Not a jab at Republicans here; just stating facts).

Folks, I hope that you're working on either buying a new digital television or are at least considering purchasing a box to convert your TV signals to digital, because the deadline for transitioning to this new technology is nearing and Congress isn't changing its mind. According to lawmakers in the House of Representatives, February 19, 2009 is still the deadline for the complete transition to digital TV. And, since it's coming from the United States government you know that it's for real!

The temptation to make the headline "America salutes America" was great, but I resisted. Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis took the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday to salute America Ferrera for her Golden Globe win and for "breaking down barriers for Latinos in prime-time television...I commend America and everyone involved in Ugly Betty for helping break down stereotypes and provide a role model for young Latinas." (Heck, she deserves praise for being one of the only non-Brits to snag an award. It was a regular Anglophile-o-rama at the Globes on Monday.)

Solis' own work in "breaking down barriers" isn't too shabby either. She was the first Latina elected to the California State Senate, and she is serving her third Congressional term. She was also the first Latina to receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. Maybe giving Betty this nod will win her a guest spot on the show where she can come and convince Betty to give up the frivolous world of fashion for a turn at politics.

After seeing Comedy Central's as for this Daily Show/Colbert Report "Midterm Midtacular" mash-up , I expected a lot more integration. Aside from the obvious change in content, this special wasn't all that, um, special. It was just like the usual Stewart/Colbert block, but with one or two more check-ins. No breaking news. No balloon drops. No t-shirt giveaways. Ehh.