MSNBC has a roundup of telecom issues being debated in Congress, introduced with this cheery news:

After years of benign neglect, the Federal government is finally involved in the Internet — big time. And the decisions being made over the next few months will impact not just the future of the Web, but that of mass media and consumer electronics as well. Yet it’s safe to say that far more Americans have heard about flag burning than the laws that may soon reshape cyberspace.

People in a position to know tell me that the salaries offered to telecom lawyers, such as FCC and congressional staffers, have increased signiificantly over the past three years, which one can interpret as progress along the road to perdition. The Federal Communications Bar Association now has about 2800 members -- watch that number as a leading indicator of the likelihood of total telecom gridlock.