Former VP Joe Biden Channels 80's Cyber Character Max Headroom

The figure of Joe Biden breaks up during a live presentation of a COVID-19 social distancing consciousness campaign rally. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks via Snipping Tool (2020) 

Former VP Joe Biden Channels 80's Cyber Character Max Headroom

So here we go - future elected head of the Democrat Political Party, Joe Biden, as its candidate to run against the sitting 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, held a COVID-19 virtual campaign rally on the interwebs from Tampa Bay, Florida.

Many who must have planned this, said to themselves, what a great idea because we can get our nominee some face time with potential voters in an important swing state. The campaign contacted local station WTSP, virtual and VHF digital channel 10, a CBS-affiliated television station licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida, United States that also serves the community of Tampa Bay.

This is what they had posted at their YouTube site:

Joe Biden holds virtual rally for Tampa, Florida | 10 Tampa Bay
71,933 views • Streamed live on May 7, 2020 - 10 Tampa Bay - 28.3K subscribers

Social-distancing limitations are preventing candidates from holding crowded campaign rallies, so former Vice President Joe Biden is hosting a virtual rally for people in Tampa. Earlier today, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee held a virtual roundtable with community leaders in Jacksonville.

►Subscribe: https://on.wtsp.com/youtube
►Website: https://www.wtsp.com/
►Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/10TampaBay
►Twitter: https://twitter.com/10TampaBay

No! This isn't the virtual rally, but Max Headroom, an '80's television comedy character actually ends up being more coherent in this over seven minute clip than everyone in the nearly forty-five minute Biden virtual campaign rally.

This excerpted and edited from FOX 13 News -

Biden's virtual rally for Tampa falters, plagued by technical issues
By Evan Axelbank - FOX 13 News

The era of virtual campaigning did not start well for Joe Biden.

A 45-minute rally targeted at a Tampa audience did not go as planned, as it was rife with poor audio quality, choppy video, and a candidate who wasn't even sure when he was on camera.

For just under 10 minutes [starting at 37:00 minutes], the former vice president spoke from a Florida-like setting at his home in Delaware.

Virtual rallies are a way for the presumptive Democratic nominee to target areas that will be crucial for his White House run, while still practicing social distancing.

"In the thick of this crisis, Florida has the worst rate of fulfilling unemployment claims of any state in the country," Biden said. "It's no surprise, the unemployment system was allowed to be hollowed out by Gov. Scott in 2011."

His theme: President Trump isn't equipped to handle a pandemic.

"This crisis is revealing so much about our society, including just how critical it is to have competence in government," Biden said.

Facebook entry on a timeline that reflects this author's instant impression of what he had witnessed on a report showing the video internet NETCODE effected glitches of Joe Biden's virtual campaign rally. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks via Snipping Tool 2020

At one point, about 2,600 were watching live on YouTube, though the number dropped to about 2,000 as the tech problems went on, which included a six-minute period of black screen during the warm-up speakers.

Before the rally, the Trump campaign held a conference call with reporters and one of their main points is that they consider their digital outreach efforts far ahead of the Biden campaign's.

"We are absolutely crushing it here on the ground in Florida and we are not going to stop," said Florida GOP chair Joe Gruters.

After the rally, the Biden campaign declined to answer any further questions about the technical issues.
[Reference Here]

One can only suspect that most of the folks on the Joe Biden 2020 campaign staff never saw Max Headroom, for it would have provided some instant levity, call it the riches of embarrassment, in a dismal display of political professionalism.

This Democrat Political Party era will always be known here, and in the hearts and minds of embarrassed, yet well meaning Democrats, as Carter's Second Term.




TAGS: Joe Biden, Tampa Bay, 10 Tampa, WTSP, CBS, FOX 13, virtual, cyber, digital, NETCODE, political campaign, Democrat Political Party, Max Headroom, Carter's Second Term

Digital Signal Hostage Crisis Averted – Not Over

Nightline, or ABC News Nightline is a late-night hard and soft news program broadcast by ABC in the United States. The program had its beginnings on November 8, 1979, just 4 days after the Iran hostage crisis started. ABC News president Roone Arledge felt the best way to compete against NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was to update Americans on the latest news from Iran. Caption Credit: Wikipedia Image Credit: Overflowrooms.com

Digital Signal Hostage Crisis Averted – Not Over

The House of Representatives, yesterday, did not muster enough votes to place the launch to the conversion of television broadcasting from analog signal to digital signal in a delay.

The proposal on the House floor was designed to delay (hold hostage) the conversion date by four months (from Feb. 17, 2009 to June 17, 2009).

Delaying the transition would cost public broadcasters $22 million, the PBS system chief, Paula Kerger, estimated on Monday.

The National Association of Broadcasters had not taken a position on extending the deadline. The TV stations don't want to suddenly alienate and lose viewers, but they've also sunk money into preparing for the Feb. 17 transition.

Americans have had about one year to prepare for this digital signal conversion. With this vote, our broadcast standards conversion will not be held hostage here in Carter’s Second Term.

We have averted a Converter Box/Digital Signal conversion hostage crisis, but hope still looms - proponents of the delay are hopeful that the House can take up the issue again next week (on behalf of President Barack Obama) and take a vote for a conversion delay a second time with a simple majority decision.

Consumers can apply for a coupon at dtv2009.gov or call 1-888-DTV2009. Many converter boxes have sold out, according to the NTIA’s official list. However, I know digital converter boxes are still in stock. I was at the Target store in Huntington Beach over the weekend and they had plenty. Caption & Image Credit: gadgetress.freedomblogging.com

This excerpted and edited from the San Francisco Chronicle -

House vote keeps digital TV deadline, for now
Ryan Kim, Chronicle Staff Writer - Thursday, January 29, 2009

Despite a unanimous vote by the U.S. Senate to delay the Feb. 17 deadline to transition to digital television, the changeover will proceed as planned after a vote Wednesday by the House of Representatives.

The House voted 258-168 in favor of a four-month delay, but the measure fell 26 votes short of the necessary two-thirds margin for passage. The Senate voted Monday to delay the transition to June 12, fearing that an estimated 6.5 million TV households would be unprepared for the shift from analog TV.
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The two-thirds vote was required because the bill was fast-tracked on the House's suspension calendar.

Viewers who use sets with antenna to pull in the old analog signal will need to buy a TV with a digital tuner, purchase a converter box or upgrade to a pay TV service.
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President Obama urged a delay earlier this month. Republicans were largely opposed to the delay, saying it would further confuse consumers and would cost broadcasters millions to keep broadcasting in analog. They also worried about public safety agencies who were set to take over parts of the spectrum freed up by moving to more efficient digital airwaves.

"The bill is a solution looking for a problem," said Joe Barton of Texas before the vote. He is the top Republican on the House Commerce Committee.

Congress allocated more spectrum to broadcasters in 1996 so they could create digital broadcast channels. In 2005, legislators chose the deadline of Feb. 17 to free up spectrum for emergency services and advanced wireless communications. The transition also allows broadcasters to create multiple digital channels, including high-definition feeds.
Reference Here>>

With this delay/hostage crisis situation being placed on ice, at least temporally, don’t look for a revival of the once popular ABC NEWS program, Nightline, soon.

Digital Signal Held Hostage For Four Months

This whole television transition is one big bloated boondoggle. These stores and the converter box makers scored with this one. For one, the coupons are good only with stand-alone devices that will convert the signals and not for multi-purpose devices like VCRs, televisions, etc. that build in a converter. Two, television broadcasters don’t need to pay a penny for their broadcast licenses. Three, the converters are expected to cost $75 or more. Four, the converter boxes don’t even include a V-chip (this was a missed opportunity to get a V-chip in every home). There is more to complain about, but I’ll spare myself the time and effort. Caption & Image Credit: Reports From My Nanocosm

Digital Signal Held Hostage For Four Months

We are in the middle of a Converter Box/Digital Signal conversion hostage crisis!

Yes, that is right, the NEW Carter Administration (the Obama 44th Presidency) has it’s first hostage situation and it was created by a request from the office of the President Barack Obama.

The reason given for the delay approved for by the Senate in all digital broadcast conversion was that the FCC ran out of money to fund its $40.00 converter coupon give-away program which would allow those people who receive their television signal through the general broadcast method (without Cable or Satellite Dish) to receive and decode the new digital signal.

What may be more to the truth, Barack Obama wants to make sure all citizens under his control will be able to see the news he and his administration creates as they meddle with our capitalistic based economy in a really big socialistic way.

I don’t generally shop in Wal*Mart (ruthless and toothless); however the converter box cost $10 after the coupon ($50 retail price). That beat the $65 charged by Radio Shack for a no brand item. The nice thing I found out about this box is that it includes a V-Chip intended to let parents filter out inappropriate content from their youngsters. It is likely that most people who rely on the government coupons to purchase a converter box will not have televisions built since 2000 when the V-Chip was mandated. The program is still a boondoggle, just not as big as I had previously made it out to be. Caption & Image Credit: Reports From My Nanocosm

This excerpted and edited from the Sacramento Bee -

Senate approves four-month delay in digital TV conversion
Sacramento Bee via Associated Press - Published: Monday, Jan. 26, 2009

The Senate today approved a four-month delay in digital TV conversion.
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The latest estimate is that more than 6.5 million households are not prepared for the switch.

The National Association of Broadcasters had not taken a position on extending the deadline. The TV stations don't want to suddenly alienate and lose viewers, but they've also sunk money into preparing for the Feb. 17 transition.

Delaying the transition would cost public broadcasters $22 million, the PBS system chief estimated on Monday. The stations will face increased power charges to maintain over-the-air broadcast signals, said Paula Kerger, president and CEO of the Public Broadcasting System.
Reference Here>>

Americans have had about one year to prepare for this digital signal conversion so now our broadcast standards, well, are being held hostage on only the sixth day here in Carter’s Second Term.

We are in the middle of a Converter Box/Digital Signal conversion hostage crisis!