Whatever was in my noggin yesterday is still there today, Jeff. Defining it as a brain may be a controversial issue. . .

I’m not prepared to believe that anything and everything the Bells might seek to change in public policy must be bad for the public. For example, what is the downside for consumers if North Carolina law changes to allow more competition in TV service? The tax change would be at least revenue-neutral, if not a net tax reduction (cable and satellite service are already subject to the state sales tax, so the proposal here is to equalize the tax treatment, eliminating an archaic tax in the process). Letting local governments decide whether to allow existing phone franchises to add TV service seems to me to be a recipe for chiseling and political machinations.

Homes are already wired by the phone company. But for good market reasons, the original services sold along these wires are moving to other technology, either cellular or email. Why not allow firms to make some competitive use of the asset? Help me out here.