The Federal Communications Commission just approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Net Neutrality this morning, following through on its promise to preserve an open Internet.

In the run-up to the release of the Federal Communication Commission’s proposed new Network Neutrality rules on Thursday, phone and cable lobbyists and their proxies have been hammering lawmakers, regulators and the press with unsubstantiated claims about the “unintended consequences” of FCC action.

As the opponents of Net Neutrality continue their desperate attempts to thwart the FCC from beginning a rulemaking on the issue, we decided it might be helpful for readers to see for themselves the kinds of pretzel-like arguments they’ve twisted themselves into. Here are five fundamental questions Net Neutrality opponents have failed to answer:

Support for Net Neutrality is streaming in faster than we can say “Julius Genachowski.”

ColorOfChange.org is writing to urge the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to support the fundamental Internet principle of network neutrality. For African-Americans and several other communities, the Internet offers a transformative opportunity to build a more equitable media system.

The National Organization for Women (NOW) urges you to stand with us in support of Network Neutrality, the principle that protects choice of content and equal opportunity on the Internet.

UPDATE: The names just keep rolling in - we are now up to nearly 50 newsrooms and journalists who have signed on to support Net Neutrality."

We, the undersigned, ask you to stand with us in favor of “Net Neutrality.” Freedom of the press is a central tenant of our democracy and the Internet is today’s printing press. As journalists we understand that Net Neutrality is at its core about people’s access to information. The future of journalism in America depends on an open and free flowing Internet.

The current battle over net neutrality has deep roots, oddly enough, in rural America. In 1891, a Kansas undertaker named Almon Strowger patented the first telephone switch. His innovation, he would later say, was compelled by a local telephone operator who limited calls to his business while favoring calls to his competitor, with whom she was romantically involved.

The Alliance for Community Media urges you to stand with us in support of Network Neutrality, the principle that protects choice of content and equal opportunity on the Internet. It’s because of Network Neutrality that the Internet has been such a powerful engine for free speech and civic participation since its inception. We represent local community media centers across the nation that are providing their community members with access to media in all of its forms. The Internet is a fundamental tool of our engagement with our local communities and are committed to a strong open and neutral Internet, where everyone has a voice in our democracy.