Washington, D.C., is often referred to as a “bubble,” and for good reason. On any given day there will be some kind of panel at an industry-funded “think tank” that includes regulators or other government officials speaking about the ills of government — and the virtues of unrestrained monopoly. This week we got two of these bubble moments courtesy of the Federal Communications Commission.

It’s been almost a decade since Martha Wright filed the lawsuit that led to a petition asking the Federal Communications Commission to address the high cost of prison phone calls — which can climb as high as $17 for a 15-minute call. This was a personal issue for Ms. Wright, who was struggling to stay in touch with a grandson who was incarcerated out of state. She couldn’t easily visit her grandson, who was transferred to multiple prisons over the course of his sentence, and because she’s blind she couldn’t communicate with him via mail.

Telephone and cable companies keep dreaming up new ways to close down your access to the Internet. This week, the court case over the Federal Communications Commission rules designed to prevent that kind of behavior moved to its next phase.