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People are cutting back on lots of spending these days, but one area that was supposedly relatively safe was in-home entertainment expenditures. Things like cable and satellite TV and Netflix were thought to even thrive during economic downturns as people looked to limit going out, choosing instead to stay in and be entertained. While that seems to be working out for Netflix, cable companies are starting to feel the pinch as people drop their subscriptions and get their TV fix online. While it's a relatively small number of people that are making the move, it's the sort of thing that cable companies have been concerned about for a while. The WSJ story talks about some moves by the likes of Comcast and Time Warner to grab more online viewers, but if the cable companies continue to try and treat their online efforts in the same way as their traditional offerings, it's hard to see much success. It doesn't seem like a coincidence that this is happening as cable companies are looking to introduce caps on their broadband services. They say it's because some consumers are creating too much traffic, in part because of their online video viewing, and it's straining their networks. But perhaps it's just a way to try and capture lost TV revenue from cord-cutters? Of course, trying to get users who are going broadband-only for their TV to take on metered broadband seems like a good way to drive them to competitors with uncapped plans.

Carlo Longino is an expert at the Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Carlo Longino and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.

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Walter Shapiro: "Dodd, who is one of the last of the old-style Ted Kennedy liberals in the Senate, still has the potential to eke out another term. Connecticut is such a Democratic state that its last orthodox Republican senator was (it is worth waiting for) Prescott Bush, the father of one president and the grandfather of another. (To be technical, erratic liberal Lowell Weicker was also a GOP senator, but certainly not an orthodox one.) Attorney General Richard Blumenthal -- the one powerhouse Democratic statewide official who could theoretically challenge Dodd in a primary -- is apparently prepared to wait and hope that Joe Lieberman (remember him?) does not run for re-election in 2012."

CQ Politics: "No fewer than 11 senators appeared on the Sunday talk shows to discuss the timetable for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor; though the word 'filibuster' came up, no one threw down the gauntlet."

However, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), the Senate Judiciary Committee's top Republican, said on Meet the Press that a confirmation vote before the August recess is "unrealistic."

IT'S ON!...
Dems are attacking Republican Representatives in radio ads for not spending enough taxpayer money!
Really!

Barack Obama will quadruple the deficit this year.

Democrats believe they have a winning formula for 2010.
They are airing ads attacking Republican Representatives for not voting on the massive Democratic spending bills this year.
Roll Call reported:

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is running radio advertisements for the next week targeting six House Republicans, according to details obtained by Roll Call. The committee blasted these GOP Members for voting against Democrats�" Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which passed earlier this year.

Radio advertisements, automated calls and e-mails will target Reps. Don Young (Alaska), Brian Bilbray (Calif.), Tom Rooney (Fla.), Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.), Peter King (N.Y.) and Charlie Dent (Pa.).

�SDid you know Congressman King voted against the economic recovery plan?⬝ says an announcer in the spot running in King�"s district. �SHe opposed an $800 tax cut and opposed creating or saving 215,000 New York jobs. Tell King to put New York first.⬝

In addition to the radio advertisement, which is scheduled to air during drive time, automatic phone calls will run in each of the Republicans�" districts. The automated calls refer to specific projects in the districts that could be funded by the stimulus, such as widening a road in McCotter�"s district.

Obviously, the democrats didn't get the message from the California voters 10 days ago.