A few comments
Three comments here --
1st, props to Mediacom. Nobody ever gives props to a cable co and it feels odd to do so. But the likes of Comcast are now encrypting ALL their cable channels (INCLUDING local OTA (over the air) channels that FCC regulations REQUIRE them to carry in the clear... when the FCC brought enforcement action against Comcast, Comcast took them to court instead of following the rules.) So you need a cable box to get ANYTHING. In contrast, Mediacom not only has OTA channels unecrypted, but SD copies of ALL the channels (except pay ones like HBO) in the clear. I can plug my cable straight into the USB TV tuner and mythtv handles it fine.
2nd -- honestly, I must agree 100% with what Sanders etc. say. It's predatory pricing to rent out these low-end set top boxes (that have about $5 worht of parts in them, so probably cost under $30 full retail) for $2-3 a month. The cable cos were SUPPOSED to be required by the FCC to support CableCard, so you'd stick that in your cable-ready TV and not need a box. But a) Some cable cos are straight-up violating the FCC rule by not having cable cards available or supported. b) The ones that "support" it, the customer tends to have to keep calling until they find someone who knows it even exits and knows how to set it up. c) Predatory pricing, some cable cos have it but charge more to rent the card than for a deluxe set top box. They can't comprehend that someone may want to use the controls on their own TV. d) I don't mention DVRs here, CableCard is useless for computers due to excessive rights restrictions requirements.
3) "They don't have rules that allow monopolies, they lack rules that prevent them." False. In the US, most market have a cable *franchise*, potential competition is LOCKED OUT of the market. Artificial monopoly due to regulation. I'm not saying deregulating is necessarily the solution but your argument is not based on facts.
4) Why party and state after names? US has 2 nearly-identical main political parties, (seriously, by UK standards one is nearly center center-right and the other nearly center center-left, to the point that they'd probably both be one centrist party there), but members of BOTH parties like to pretend *they* are totally different, and pretend whatever topic they are on that any problems are ALL the other parties fault. (For example, federal spending is greatly increased each and every year, but both parties claim they want to DECREASE spending -- pointing to programs they want to cut and ignoring the huge spending they want to spend on OTHER things -- and those deficits are ALL the other party's fault.) But since the parties are so similar, unless you recognize someone from an election you won't be able to tell which party they are a member of jut by hearing them talk, thus the little letter.