Well, lousy news. The subcomittee designated to argue the COPE Act voted on April 5, by larger-than-expected margins, to approve the COPE Act without any provisions for network neutrality or localism concerns. Big telecom, having outspent their rivals by more than four to one, got what they paid for. And as a result, all of us may not get what we pay for.

Representative Joe Barton, whose coffers are coincidentally lined with telecom cash, claims better than two-to-one odds that a telecom bill will be signed into law this year. I'm not so sure: The House Judiciary Committee, ironically headed by anti-immigrant demagogue James Sensenbrenner, wants a piece of the telecom action because of telecom antitrust implications. Plus, there's the Senate version of the bill to be announced. Plus, there's a reduced work schedule in Congress what with the 2006 elections and all (with a two-week break just starting, without a freaking budget bill no less). Plus, AT&T could get caught in wholesale NSA-related domestic surveillance. That may be one reason why big telecom is striving to act now at the state level.

There is some humor amidst all of this. For instance, there's this comic strip and this ironic blog post. And as the Chicago suburbs of Roselle and Carpentersville demonstrate with an inspiring action: sometimes, you have to fight for your rights.

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