Of course, you can always get a converter box and the government will send you a coupon to defray the cost (if you can figure out who to even talk to about this). But the converter boxes are the most ingenious step in this whole evil plan. When you get you hook up your converter box, that's when the real fun begins. You'll discover a few surprises:

1) digital signals don't travel very far

2) if a digital TV doesn't get a great signal, it won't work. Unless the broadcast tower is in your front yard (and if it is, you probably ought to move), you're going to see a lot less TV than before.

3) the converter boxes don't work connected to a DVD recorder.

Other than that, the conversion should go rather marvelously.

So, short of fomenting a riot at your town's public square, and shouting, "death to the FCC", in reality, what's the average TV owner to do? Answer- NOTHING! We might as well change FCC to KGB for the underhanded way the agency has conducted this so-called 'transition for progress'.

Once again, it's the poor people getting *******, blued, and tattooed. If you've been downsized during this recession, and can't afford an upgrade, you might as well turn your present TV into a planter, because the word from the wise is that the dreaded converter boxes produce eerie, cube-like images, the picture often freezes; and frequently getting a "digital strength too low" message.

And the FCC believes that by going digital, it will free up more airwaves for emergency situations. This will allow them to transmit and broadcast natural disasters and events on a grander scale rather than just interrupting a broadcast.  It will also free up the airwaves for 9-1-1, emergency vehicles, etc. to communicate with one another...or so they claim.

But anecdotal reports from people who have purchased converter boxes tell of getting only half of the stations, many which only work part of the time, or pixilate and freeze up, or simply say, "no signal". Let digital freedom ring!

Now try this for some fuzzy math: The government took in $19.6 billion last year by auctioning existing analog TV airwaves to telecom companies for new wireless services, but Congress allocated less than $2 billion to educate consumers about the transition, and to issue coupons for converter boxes.

And this means that now that the spectrums have been auctioned off, the transition is largely IRREVERSIBLE.

Now, imagine this--- a lowball estimated 7.7 million households nationwide may find their screens going dark next month. Actually it may run as high as 30 -35 million unhappy TV campers, clamoring for the heads of the FCC.

Stand by for total chaos-- people who think they are prepared for the analog shutoff could lose some channels — or possibly even lose reception entirely — unless ...here we go...they purchase a new antenna.

What's more, consumers figure to discover that they'll need this new antenna equipment  in the dead of winter. But with global warming at hand, whats to worry...right? Wrong! Winter basically anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon ain't exactly where you want to be, installing a new rooftop antenna.

So if you're 80 years old and living on Social Security, you may not even be able to buy an antenna, or hire someone to install it. Oh well, there always the wintertime fun of tole-painting, needlepoint, crossword puzzles, and talk radio. And besides, everyone knows, there's nothing good on TV anymore.

So, while many people will find their old antennas pull in digital signals for stations they rely on, many others will find it necessary to make repairs or extensive alterations in order to pull in a good signal. Sounds like a good time to apply for employment at Radio Shack.

But the standard propaganda line from the government goes like this: "The transition to digital television next month has been hailed as the biggest advance in over-the-air TV since the advent of color". However,  in reality, it's shaping up as a massive black eye for the government, and risks leaving millions of viewers without a picture.

In brief, some viewers could lose once-clear analog signals because of the so-called digital "cliff effect." Unlike analog signals, digital broadcasts come in clear, or don't come in at all, meaning that people on the fringes of analog coverage, who currently get fuzzy reception, will lose reception entirely.

And if the digital TV transition wasn't perplexing enough, consumers now need to worry about being misled. Polls have consistently shown that confusion is rampant concerning the upcoming deadline-- and whether they should buy a converter, buy a new TV,  or call a satellite company; or do nothing. But what?

Unlike the Y2K fizzle (where everyone prepared and nothing happened), this will be a total polar opposite: few are prepared, and the TV equivalent of Biblical gnashing of teeth may be about to descend upon our nation.

And indeed, there's much to gnash one's teeth about. People aren't sure if they need a new TV to continue receiving over-the-air signals, or if they should apply for the $40 coupons (available to any U.S. household) to purchase a converter box, so old analog sets can receive new digital broadcasts.