Beware! Congress Is Back in Town!

First up, a six-year transportation bill featuring three-years of funding.

Next up, a lesson in aggravated frustration … another futile attempt to kill Obamacare.  Nothing like a Congressional time-waster for the umpteenth time.

Just for fun, posturing about the Middle East’s refugee crisis should dominate any inaction for about half the allotted debate time before the Christmas/New Year recesses.  Be sure to learn all about visa waivers and never mind about the “terrorist background check” loopholes for gun buyers.

And, oh yeah, there’s the chance of another government shutdown over several dozen issues.

Also on your list of things to watch is this week’s beginning of the court fights over Net Neutrality.  That’ll be going on for a while, but it should be about as amusing as it gets for politics in America.

Meanwhile, war between Russia and Turkey -- significant trading partners -- has been postponed.  At least they’re not shooting at each other. Yet.

Random Notes

My Book "The Revolutionary Evolution of the Media" continues! Go here to read the latest chapter or here to start from the beginning.

Ever since Dwight Eisenhower ran the first Presidential campaign commercial in 1952, politics and television have been joined at the hip … at least nationally every four years.  But we’ve never seen anything like this campaign.  Happening everywhere you look! Here today! Just a “short” year before votes will be cast. 

Actually, it has been quite gratifying to watch the Republican Party help fund the lame-stream media … aka the national networks, the over-the-air stations and the co-op cable ad sales in early primary markets of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. We also have to thank the candidates for following brand new sets of scripts unlike any previous year.  Laughs!  Tears!  Threats!  Insults! Debates! Questions asked and not answered!  Whining about impertinent questions! Ratings! Massive rallies and small town halls!  Kicking folks out of events!  Roughing up a few protesters!  America at its best!

Prediction: The Donald will -- eventually, sometime around next October -- flame out as the Republican Presidential nominee.  Just after the election, the GOP will change its name to the Wig, oops, Whig Party and the Donald will convene the Whig Party elite and tell them, “You’re fired!”

Retransmission Open Secrets Division: Kudos to Comcast for showing a “Broadcast TV” fee on its bills … now if it were specific as to how much for each “free” TV service, it would be truly interesting. And, the company is boosting its fees as much as 67% according to DSL Reports. Can’t wait to see mine.

Liberty Global is big in Europe. Now, with the addition Cable & Wireless, it is big south of our borders.  No secret there. Cable veteran Dr. John Malone has always had a long, long reach. In addition, he has a small share of Charter and has helped spur Charter’s bid for Time Warner Cable and Bright House.

So who’s making the most noise attempting to stop Dr. Malone?  Mr. Charles Ergen of DISH.  Shocking.

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