They lost the Super Bowl, but Philly remains as feisty as ever (and God love 'em for that).

In a well-written article on News.Com today, Philly CIO Dianah Neff defends her city against a Verizon attack that caused state legislators to try and stop her city from installing a Wi-Fi network.

"For all the money they've spent lobbying against municipal participation, they could have built the network themselves," she writes. "The truth, of course, is that the incumbent local exchange carriers want unregulated monopolies over all telecommunications."

Neff then quotes Dr. Mark N. Cooper, research director at the Consumer Federation of America, which to a Bell is a bit like waving a red flag in front of a bull.

More after the break.

She's right. But it may not help. The Bells are that powerful. Like other businesses today they run government, and in fact they are the government. Which means government policy is perverted to suit what they want, not what they need.

I've written before that when religion acquires the power of the state it becomes the state and loses all its holiness. But it's also true, I think, that when a business is able to control the government it becomes the government, and loses its competitiveness.

Call that Dana's Law of Fascism.